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    </style></head><body><div class="book"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="idm1"></a>The Mutt E-Mail Client</h1></div><div><div class="author"><h3 class="author"><span class="firstname">Michael</span> <span class="surname">Elkins</span></h3><code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:me@cs.hmc.edu">me@cs.hmc.edu</a>&gt;</code></div></div><div><p class="releaseinfo">version 2.2.13 (00d56288) (2024-03-09)</p></div><div><div class="abstract"><p class="title"><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">All mail clients suck.  This one just sucks less.</span>”</span> —
me, circa 1995
</p></div></div></div><hr /></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#intro">1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#homepage">1. Mutt Home Page</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#muttlists">2. Mailing Lists</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#distribution">3. Getting Mutt</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#irc">4. Mutt Online Resources</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#contrib">5. Contributing to Mutt</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#typo">6. Typographical Conventions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#copyright">7. Copyright</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#gettingstarted">2. Getting Started</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#core-concepts">1. Core Concepts</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#concept-screens-and-menus">2. Screens and Menus</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-index">2.1. Index</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-pager">2.2. Pager</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-browser">2.3. File Browser</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-sidebar">2.4. Sidebar</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-help">2.5. Help</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-compose">2.6. Compose Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-alias">2.7. Alias Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-attach">2.8. Attachment Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-list">2.9. List Menu</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#menus">3. Moving Around in Menus</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#editing">4. Editing Input Fields</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#editing-intro">4.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#editing-history">4.2. History</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#reading">5. Reading Mail</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#index-menu">5.1. The Message Index</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#pager-menu">5.2. The Pager</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#threads">5.3. Threaded Mode</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#reading-misc">5.4. Miscellaneous Functions</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#sending">6. Sending Mail</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sending-intro">6.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#edit-header">6.2. Editing the Message Header</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sending-crypto">6.3. Sending Cryptographically Signed/Encrypted Messages</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#ff">6.4. Sending Format=Flowed Messages</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#bgedit">6.5. Background Editing</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#forwarding-mail">7. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#postponing-mail">8. Postponing Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#encryption">9. Encryption and Signing</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#enc-pgp">9.1. OpenPGP Configuration</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#enc-smime">9.2. S/MIME Configuration</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#configuration">3. Configuration</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#configuration-files">1. Location of Initialization Files</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#quickconfig">2. Starter Muttrc</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#muttrc-syntax">3. Syntax of Initialization Files</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#addrgroup">4. Address Groups</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#alias">5. Defining/Using Aliases</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#bind">6. Changing the Default Key Bindings</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#stty">6.1. Terminal Keybindings</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#crlf">6.2. Enter versus Return</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#cd">7. Changing the current working directory</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#charset-hook">8. Defining Aliases for Character Sets</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#folder-hook">9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#macro">10. Keyboard Macros</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#color">11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#msg-hdr-display">12. Message Header Display</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#hdr-folding">12.1. Header Display</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#ignore">12.2. Selecting Headers</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#hdr-order">12.3. Ordering Displayed Headers</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#alternates">13. Alternative Addresses</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#lists">14. Mailing Lists</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mbox-hook">15. Using Multiple Spool Mailboxes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mailboxes">16. Monitoring Incoming Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#my-hdr">17. User-Defined Headers</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#save-hook">18. Specify Default Save Mailbox</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#fcc-hook">19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#fcc-save-hook">20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#send-hook">21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#message-hook">22. Change Settings Before Formatting a Message</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#crypt-hook">23. Choosing the Cryptographic Key of the Recipient</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#index-format-hook">24. Dynamically Changing $index_format using Patterns</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#push">25. Adding Key Sequences to the Keyboard Buffer</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#exec">26. Executing Functions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#score-command">27. Message Scoring</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#spam">28. Spam Detection</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#set">29. Setting and Querying Variables</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#var-types">29.1. Variable Types</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#set-commands">29.2. Commands</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#set-myvar">29.3. User-Defined Variables</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#set-conversions">29.4. Type Conversions</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#source">30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#unhook">31. Removing Hooks</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#formatstrings">32. Format Strings</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-basics">32.1. Basic usage</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-conditionals">32.2. Conditionals</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-filters">32.3. Filters</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-padding">32.4. Padding</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-size">32.5. Bytes size display</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mailto-allow">33. Control allowed header fields in a mailto: URL</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#advancedusage">4. Advanced Usage</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#charset-handling">1. Character Set Handling</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#regexp">2. Regular Expressions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#patterns">3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#patterns-modifier">3.1. Pattern Modifier</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#simple-searches">3.2. Simple Searches</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#complex-patterns">3.3. Nesting and Boolean Operators</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#date-patterns">3.4. Searching by Date</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#markmsg">4. Marking Messages</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#tags">5. Using Tags</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#hooks">6. Using Hooks</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#pattern-hook">6.1. Message Matching in Hooks</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mailbox-hook">6.2. Mailbox Matching in Hooks</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#setenv">7. Managing the Environment</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#query">8. External Address Queries</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mailbox-formats">9. Mailbox Formats</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#shortcuts">10. Mailbox Shortcuts</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#using-lists">11. Handling Mailing Lists</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#display-munging">12. Display Munging</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#new-mail">13. New Mail Detection</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#new-mail-formats">13.1. How New Mail Detection Works</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#new-mail-polling">13.2. Polling For New Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#new-mail-monitoring">13.3. Monitoring New Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#calc-mailbox-counts">13.4. Calculating Mailbox Message Counts</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#editing-threads">14. Editing Threads</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#link-threads">14.1. Linking Threads</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#break-threads">14.2. Breaking Threads</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#dsn">15. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#urlview">16. Start a WWW Browser on URLs</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#echo">17. Echoing Text</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#compose-flow">18. Message Composition Flow</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#batch-compose-flow">19. Batch Composition Flow</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#muttlisp">20. Using MuttLisp (EXPERIMENTAL)</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#run">20.1. Running a command generated by MuttLisp</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#muttlisp-interpolate">20.2. Interpolating MuttLisp in a Command Argument</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#muttlisp-syntax">20.3. MuttLisp Syntax</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#muttlisp-funcs">20.4. MuttLisp Functions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#muttlisp-examples">20.5. Examples</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#misc-topics">21. Miscellany</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#mimesupport">5. Mutt's MIME Support</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#using-mime">1. Using MIME in Mutt</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mime-overview">1.1. MIME Overview</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mime-pager">1.2. Viewing MIME Messages in the Pager</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#attach-menu">1.3. The Attachment Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compose-menu">1.4. The Compose Menu</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mime-types">2. MIME Type Configuration with <code class="literal">mime.types</code></a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mailcap">3. MIME Viewer Configuration with Mailcap</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mailcap-basics">3.1. The Basics of the Mailcap File</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#secure-mailcap">3.2. Secure Use of Mailcap</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#advanced-mailcap">3.3. Advanced Mailcap Usage</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mailcap-example">3.4. Example Mailcap Files</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#auto-view">4. MIME Autoview</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#alternative-order">5. MIME Multipart/Alternative</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#attachments">6. Attachment Searching and Counting</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mime-lookup">7. MIME Lookup</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#optionalfeatures">6. Optional Features</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#optionalfeatures-notes">1. General Notes</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compile-time-features">1.1. Enabling/Disabling Features</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#url-syntax">1.2. URL Syntax</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#ssl">2. SSL/TLS Support</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#starttls">2.1. STARTTLS</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#secure-tunnel">2.2. Tunnel</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#pop">3. POP3 Support</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#imap">4. IMAP Support</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#imap-browser">4.1. The IMAP Folder Browser</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#imap-authentication">4.2. Authentication</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#smtp">5. SMTP Support</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#oauth">6. OAUTHBEARER Support</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#xoauth2">6.1. XOAUTH2 Support</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#account-hook">7. Managing Multiple Accounts</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#caching">8. Local Caching</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#header-caching">8.1. Header Caching</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#body-caching">8.2. Body Caching</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#cache-dirs">8.3. Cache Directories</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#maint-cache">8.4. Maintenance</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#exact-address">9. Exact Address Generation</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#sending-mixmaster">10. Sending Anonymous Messages via Mixmaster</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#sidebar">11. Sidebar</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-intro">11.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-variables">11.2. Variables</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-functions">11.3. Functions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-whitelist">11.4. Commands</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-colors">11.5. Colors</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-sort">11.6. Sort</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-see-also">11.7. See Also</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#compress">12. Compressed Folders Feature</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compress-intro">12.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compress-commands">12.2. Commands</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#autocryptdoc">13. Autocrypt</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-requirements">13.1. Requirements</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-init">13.2. First Run</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-compose">13.3. Compose Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-acctmgmt">13.4. Account Management</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-keyrings">13.5. Alternative Key and Keyring Strategies</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#security">7. Security Considerations</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#security-passwords">1. Passwords</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#security-tempfiles">2. Temporary Files</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#security-leaks">3. Information Leaks</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#security-leaks-mailto">3.1. <code class="literal">mailto:</code>-style Links</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#security-external">4. External Applications</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#tuning">8. Performance Tuning</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#tuning-mailboxes">1. Reading and Writing Mailboxes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#tuning-messages">2. Reading Messages from Remote Folders</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#tuning-search">3. Searching and Limiting</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#reference">9. Reference</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#commandline">1. Command-Line Options</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#commands">2. Configuration Commands</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#variables">3. Configuration Variables</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#functions">4. Functions</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#generic-map">4.1. Generic Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#index-map">4.2. Index Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#pager-map">4.3. Pager Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#alias-map">4.4. Alias Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#query-map">4.5. Query Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#attachment-map">4.6. Attachment Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compose-map">4.7. Compose Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#postpone-map">4.8. Postpone Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#browser-map">4.9. Browser Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#pgp-map">4.10. Pgp Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#smime-map">4.11. Smime Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mixmaster-map">4.12. Mixmaster Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#editor-map">4.13. Editor Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocrypt-account-map">4.14. Autocrypt Account Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#list-map">4.15. List Menu</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></dd><dt><span class="chapter"><a href="#miscellany">10. Miscellany</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#acknowledgements">1. Acknowledgements</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#about">2. About This Document</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></div><div class="list-of-tables"><p><strong>List of Tables</strong></p><dl><dt>1.1. <a href="#tab-typo">Typographical conventions for special terms</a></dt><dt>2.1. <a href="#tab-keys-nav-line">Most common navigation keys in entry-based menus</a></dt><dt>2.2. <a href="#tab-keys-nav-page">Most common navigation keys in page-based menus</a></dt><dt>2.3. <a href="#tab-keys-editor">Most common line editor keys</a></dt><dt>2.4. <a href="#tab-key-index">Most common message index keys</a></dt><dt>2.5. <a href="#tab-msg-status-flags">Message status flags</a></dt><dt>2.6. <a href="#tab-msg-recip-flags">Message recipient flags</a></dt><dt>2.7. <a href="#tab-key-pager">Most common pager keys</a></dt><dt>2.8. <a href="#tab-ansi-esc">ANSI escape sequences</a></dt><dt>2.9. <a href="#tab-color">Color sequences</a></dt><dt>2.10. <a href="#tab-key-threads">Most common thread mode keys</a></dt><dt>2.11. <a href="#tab-thread-chars">Special Thread Characters</a></dt><dt>2.12. <a href="#tab-key-send">Most common mail sending keys</a></dt><dt>2.13. <a href="#tab-func-compose">Most common compose menu keys</a></dt><dt>2.14. <a href="#tab-pgp-menuflags">PGP key menu flags</a></dt><dt>3.1. <a href="#tab-key-names">Symbolic key names</a></dt><dt>4.1. <a href="#posix-regex-char-classes">POSIX regular expression character classes</a></dt><dt>4.2. <a href="#regex-repeat">Regular expression repetition operators</a></dt><dt>4.3. <a href="#regex-gnu-ext">GNU regular expression extensions</a></dt><dt>4.4. <a href="#tab-patterns">Pattern modifiers</a></dt><dt>4.5. <a href="#tab-simplesearch-keywords">Simple search keywords</a></dt><dt>4.6. <a href="#tab-date-units">Date units</a></dt><dt>4.7. <a href="#tab-rel-date-units">Relative date units</a></dt><dt>4.8. <a href="#tab-mailbox-shortcuts">Mailbox shortcuts</a></dt><dt>5.1. <a href="#supported-mime-types">Supported MIME types</a></dt><dt>6.1. <a href="#table-sidebar-variables">Sidebar Variables</a></dt><dt>6.2. <a href="#table-sidebar-functions">Sidebar Functions</a></dt><dt>6.3. <a href="#table-sidebar-colors">Sidebar Colors</a></dt><dt>6.4. <a href="#table-sidebar-sort">Sidebar Sort</a></dt><dt>6.5. <a href="#table-compress-optional">Not all Hooks are Required</a></dt><dt>9.1. <a href="#tab-commandline-options">Command line options</a></dt><dt>9.2. <a href="#tab-generic-bindings">Default Generic Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.3. <a href="#tab-index-bindings">Default Index Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.4. <a href="#tab-pager-bindings">Default Pager Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.5. <a href="#tab-alias-bindings">Default Alias Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.6. <a href="#tab-query-bindings">Default Query Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.7. <a href="#tab-attachment-bindings">Default Attachment Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.8. <a href="#tab-compose-bindings">Default Compose Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.9. <a href="#tab-postpone-bindings">Default Postpone Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.10. <a href="#tab-browser-bindings">Default Browser Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.11. <a href="#tab-pgp-bindings">Default Pgp Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.12. <a href="#tab-smime-bindings">Default Smime Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.13. <a href="#tab-mixmaster-bindings">Default Mixmaster Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.14. <a href="#tab-editor-bindings">Default Editor Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.15. <a href="#tab-autocrypt-account-bindings">Default Autocrypt Account Menu Bindings</a></dt><dt>9.16. <a href="#tab-list-bindings">Default List Menu Bindings</a></dt></dl></div><div class="list-of-examples"><p><strong>List of Examples</strong></p><dl><dt>3.1. <a href="#ex-rc-multiple-cmds">Multiple configuration commands per line</a></dt><dt>3.2. <a href="#ex-ec-comment">Commenting configuration files</a></dt><dt>3.3. <a href="#ex-rc-quote">Escaping quotes in configuration files</a></dt><dt>3.4. <a href="#ex-rc-split">Splitting long configuration commands over several lines</a></dt><dt>3.5. <a href="#ex-rc-backtick">Using external command's output in configuration files</a></dt><dt>3.6. <a href="#ex-backtick-dblquotes">Preventing the output of backticks from being parsed</a></dt><dt>3.7. <a href="#ex-rc-env">Using environment variables in configuration files</a></dt><dt>3.8. <a href="#ex-rc-muttlisp">Using MuttLisp expressions</a></dt><dt>3.9. <a href="#ex-alias-external">Configuring external alias files</a></dt><dt>3.10. <a href="#ex-folder-sorting">Setting sort method based on mailbox name</a></dt><dt>3.11. <a href="#ex-header-weeding">Header weeding</a></dt><dt>3.12. <a href="#ex-hdr-order">Configuring header display order</a></dt><dt>3.13. <a href="#ex-my-hdr">Defining custom headers</a></dt><dt>3.14. <a href="#ex-save-hook-exando">Using %-expandos in <span class="command">save-hook</span></a></dt><dt>3.15. <a href="#ex-folder-hook-push">Embedding <span class="command">push</span> in <span class="command">folder-hook</span></a></dt><dt>3.16. <a href="#ex-spam">Configuring spam detection</a></dt><dt>3.17. <a href="#ex-myvar1">Using user-defined variables for config file readability</a></dt><dt>3.18. <a href="#ex-myvar2">Using user-defined variables for backing up other config option values</a></dt><dt>3.19. <a href="#ex-myvar3">Deferring user-defined variable expansion to runtime</a></dt><dt>3.20. <a href="#ex-myvar4">Type conversions using variables</a></dt><dt>3.21. <a href="#ex-fmtpipe">Using external filters in format strings</a></dt><dt>4.1. <a href="#ex-recips">Matching all addresses in address lists</a></dt><dt>4.2. <a href="#ex-restrict-to-aliases">Matching restricted to aliases</a></dt><dt>4.3. <a href="#ex-match-alias">Matching any defined alias</a></dt><dt>4.4. <a href="#ex-pattern-bool">Using boolean operators in patterns</a></dt><dt>4.5. <a href="#ex-default-hook">Specifying a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">default</span>”</span> hook</a></dt><dt>4.6. <a href="#ex-subjectrx">Subject Munging</a></dt><dt>5.1. <a href="#ex-mime-types"><code class="literal">mime.types</code></a></dt><dt>5.2. <a href="#ex-attach-count">Attachment counting</a></dt><dt>6.1. <a href="#ex-url">URLs</a></dt><dt>6.2. <a href="#ex-multiaccount">Managing multiple accounts</a></dt><dt>6.3. <a href="#compress-open-hook-example">Example of open-hook</a></dt><dt>6.4. <a href="#compress-close-hook-example">Example of close-hook</a></dt><dt>6.5. <a href="#compress-append-hook-example">Example of append-hook</a></dt></dl></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="intro"></a>Chapter 1. Introduction</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#homepage">1. Mutt Home Page</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#muttlists">2. Mailing Lists</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#distribution">3. Getting Mutt</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#irc">4. Mutt Online Resources</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#contrib">5. Contributing to Mutt</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#typo">6. Typographical Conventions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#copyright">7. Copyright</a></span></dt></dl></div><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Mutt</strong></span> is a small but very powerful
text-based MIME mail client.  Mutt is highly configurable, and is well
suited to the mail power user with advanced features like key bindings,
keyboard macros, mail threading, regular expression searches and a
powerful pattern matching language for selecting groups of messages.
</p><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="homepage"></a>1. Mutt Home Page</h2></div></div></div><p>
The official homepage can be found at
<a class="ulink" href="http://www.mutt.org/" target="_top">http://www.mutt.org/</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="muttlists"></a>2. Mailing Lists</h2></div></div></div><p>
To subscribe to one of the following mailing lists, send a message with
the word <span class="emphasis"><em>subscribe</em></span> in the body to
<span class="emphasis"><em>list-name</em></span><code class="literal">-request@mutt.org</code>.
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
<code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:mutt-announce-request@mutt.org">mutt-announce-request@mutt.org</a>&gt;</code> — low traffic list for
announcements
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:mutt-users-request@mutt.org">mutt-users-request@mutt.org</a>&gt;</code> — help, bug reports and
feature requests
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:mutt-dev-request@mutt.org">mutt-dev-request@mutt.org</a>&gt;</code> — development mailing list
</p></li></ul></div><p>
All messages posted to <span class="emphasis"><em>mutt-announce</em></span> are
automatically forwarded to <span class="emphasis"><em>mutt-users</em></span>, so you do
not need to be subscribed to both lists.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="distribution"></a>3. Getting Mutt</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt releases can be downloaded from <a class="ulink" href="ftp://ftp.mutt.org/pub/mutt/" target="_top">ftp://ftp.mutt.org/pub/mutt/</a>.  For a
list of mirror sites, please refer to <a class="ulink" href="http://www.mutt.org/download.html" target="_top">http://www.mutt.org/download.html</a>.
</p><p>
For version control access, please refer to the
<a class="ulink" href="https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt" target="_top">Mutt development site</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="irc"></a>4. Mutt Online Resources</h2></div></div></div><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">Bug Tracking System</span></dt><dd><p>
The official Mutt bug tracking system can be found at
<a class="ulink" href="https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/issues" target="_top">https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/issues</a>
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Wiki</span></dt><dd><p>
An (unofficial) wiki can be found
at <a class="ulink" href="https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/wikis/home" target="_top">https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/wikis/home</a>.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">IRC</span></dt><dd><p>
For the IRC user community, visit channel <span class="emphasis"><em>#mutt</em></span> on
<a class="ulink" href="https://libera.chat/" target="_top">irc.libera.chat</a>.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">USENET</span></dt><dd><p>
For USENET, see the newsgroup <a class="ulink" href="news:comp.mail.mutt" target="_top">comp.mail.mutt</a>.
</p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="contrib"></a>5. Contributing to Mutt</h2></div></div></div><p>
There are various ways to contribute to the Mutt project.
</p><p>
Especially for new users it may be helpful to meet other new and
experienced users to chat about Mutt, talk about problems and share
tricks.
</p><p>
Since translations of Mutt into other languages are highly appreciated,
the Mutt developers always look for skilled translators that help
improve and continue to maintain stale translations.
</p><p>
For contributing code patches for new features and bug fixes, please
refer to the developer pages at
<a class="ulink" href="https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt" target="_top">https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt</a> for more details.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="typo"></a>6. Typographical Conventions</h2></div></div></div><p>
This section lists typographical conventions followed throughout this
manual. See table <a class="xref" href="#tab-typo" title="Table 1.1. Typographical conventions for special terms">Table 1.1, “Typographical conventions for special terms”</a> for typographical
conventions for special terms.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-typo"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 1.1. Typographical conventions for special terms</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Typographical conventions for special terms" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Item</th><th>Refers to...</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">printf(3)</code></td><td>UNIX manual pages, execute <code class="literal">man 3 printf</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;PageUp&gt;</code></td><td>named keys</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;create-alias&gt;</code></td><td>named Mutt function</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">^G</code></td><td>Control+G key combination</td></tr><tr><td>$mail_check</td><td>Mutt configuration option</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">$HOME</code></td><td>environment variable</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
Examples are presented as:
</p><pre class="screen">
mutt -v
</pre><p>
Within command synopsis, curly brackets (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">{}</span>”</span>) denote a set
of options of which one is mandatory, square brackets
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">[]</span>”</span>) denote optional arguments, three dots
denote that the argument may be repeated arbitrary times.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="copyright"></a>7. Copyright</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt is Copyright © 1996-2023 Michael R. Elkins
<code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:me@mutt.org">me@mutt.org</a>&gt;</code> and others.
</p><p>
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your
option) any later version.
</p><p>
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
General Public License for more details.
</p><p>
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
</p></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="gettingstarted"></a>Chapter 2. Getting Started</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#core-concepts">1. Core Concepts</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#concept-screens-and-menus">2. Screens and Menus</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-index">2.1. Index</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-pager">2.2. Pager</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-browser">2.3. File Browser</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-sidebar">2.4. Sidebar</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-help">2.5. Help</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-compose">2.6. Compose Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-alias">2.7. Alias Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-attach">2.8. Attachment Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#intro-list">2.9. List Menu</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#menus">3. Moving Around in Menus</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#editing">4. Editing Input Fields</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#editing-intro">4.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#editing-history">4.2. History</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#reading">5. Reading Mail</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#index-menu">5.1. The Message Index</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#pager-menu">5.2. The Pager</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#threads">5.3. Threaded Mode</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#reading-misc">5.4. Miscellaneous Functions</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#sending">6. Sending Mail</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sending-intro">6.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#edit-header">6.2. Editing the Message Header</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sending-crypto">6.3. Sending Cryptographically Signed/Encrypted Messages</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#ff">6.4. Sending Format=Flowed Messages</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#bgedit">6.5. Background Editing</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#forwarding-mail">7. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#postponing-mail">8. Postponing Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#encryption">9. Encryption and Signing</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#enc-pgp">9.1. OpenPGP Configuration</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#enc-smime">9.2. S/MIME Configuration</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></div><p>
This section is intended as a brief overview of how to use Mutt.  There
are many other features which are described elsewhere in the manual.
There is even more information available in the Mutt FAQ and various web
pages. See the <a class="ulink" href="http://www.mutt.org/" target="_top">Mutt homepage</a>
for more details.
</p><p>
The keybindings described in this section are the defaults as
distributed.  Your local system administrator may have altered the
defaults for your site.  You can always type <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">?</span>”</span> in any
menu to display the current bindings.
</p><p>
The first thing you need to do is invoke Mutt, simply by typing
<code class="literal">mutt</code> at the command line.  There are various
command-line options, see either the Mutt man page or the <a class="link" href="#commandline" title="1. Command-Line Options">reference</a>.
</p><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="core-concepts"></a>1. Core Concepts</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt is a text-based application which interacts with users through
different menus which are mostly line-/entry-based or page-based. A
line-based menu is the so-called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">index</span>”</span> menu (listing all
messages of the currently opened folder) or the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">alias</span>”</span>
menu (allowing you to select recipients from a list). Examples for
page-based menus are the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">pager</span>”</span> (showing one message at a
time) or the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">help</span>”</span> menu listing all available key
bindings.
</p><p>
The user interface consists of a context sensitive help line at the top,
the menu's contents followed by a context sensitive status line and
finally the command line. The command line is used to display
informational and error messages as well as for prompts and for entering
interactive commands.
</p><p>
Mutt is configured through variables which, if the user wants to
permanently use a non-default value, are written to configuration
files. Mutt supports a rich config file syntax to make even complex
configuration files readable and commentable.
</p><p>
Because Mutt allows for customizing almost all key bindings, there are
so-called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">functions</span>”</span> which can be executed manually (using
the command line) or in macros. Macros allow the user to bind a sequence
of commands to a single key or a short key sequence instead of repeating
a sequence of actions over and over.
</p><p>
Many commands (such as saving or copying a message to another folder)
can be applied to a single message or a set of messages (so-called
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">tagged</span>”</span> messages). To help selecting messages, Mutt
provides a rich set of message patterns (such as recipients, sender,
body contents, date sent/received, etc.) which can be combined into
complex expressions using the boolean <span class="emphasis"><em>and</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>or</em></span> operations as well as negating. These patterns
can also be used to (for example) search for messages or to limit the
index to show only matching messages.
</p><p>
Mutt supports a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">hook</span>”</span> concept which allows the user to
execute arbitrary configuration commands and functions in certain
situations such as entering a folder, starting a new message or replying
to an existing one. These hooks can be used to highly customize Mutt's
behavior including managing multiple identities, customizing the
display for a folder or even implementing auto-archiving based on a
per-folder basis and much more.
</p><p>
Besides an interactive mode, Mutt can also be used as a command-line
tool to send messages. It also supports a
<code class="literal">mailx(1)</code>-compatible interface, see <a class="xref" href="#tab-commandline-options" title="Table 9.1. Command line options">Table 9.1, “Command line options”</a> for a complete list of command-line
options.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="concept-screens-and-menus"></a>2. Screens and Menus</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-index"></a>2.1. Index</h3></div></div></div><p>
The index is the screen that you usually see first when you start
Mutt. It gives an overview over your emails in the currently opened
mailbox. By default, this is your system mailbox.  The information you
see in the index is a list of emails, each with its number on the left,
its flags (new email, important email, email that has been forwarded or
replied to, tagged email, ...), the date when email was sent, its
sender, the email size, and the subject. Additionally, the index also
shows thread hierarchies: when you reply to an email, and the other
person replies back, you can see the other person's email in a
"sub-tree" below.  This is especially useful for personal email between
a group of people or when you've subscribed to mailing lists.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-pager"></a>2.2. Pager</h3></div></div></div><p>
The pager is responsible for showing the email content. On the top of
the pager you have an overview over the most important email headers
like the sender, the recipient, the subject, and much more
information. How much information you actually see depends on your
configuration, which we'll describe below.
</p><p>
Below the headers, you see the email body which usually contains the
message. If the email contains any attachments, you will see more
information about them below the email body, or, if the attachments are
text files, you can view them directly in the pager.
</p><p>
To give the user a good overview, it is possible to configure Mutt to
show different things in the pager with different colors. Virtually
everything that can be described with a regular expression can be
colored, e.g. URLs, email addresses or smileys.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-browser"></a>2.3. File Browser</h3></div></div></div><p>
The file browser is the interface to the local or remote file
system. When selecting a mailbox to open, the browser allows custom
sorting of items, limiting the items shown by a regular expression and a
freely adjustable format of what to display in which way. It also allows
for easy navigation through the file system when selecting file(s) to
attach to a message, select multiple files to attach and many more.
</p><p>
Some mail systems can nest mail folders inside other mail folders.
The normal open entry commands in mutt will open the mail folder and
you can't see the sub-folders.  If you instead use the
<code class="literal">&lt;descend-directory&gt;</code> function it will go into
the directory and not open it as a mail directory.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-sidebar"></a>2.4. Sidebar</h3></div></div></div><p>
    The Sidebar shows a list of all your mailboxes.  The list can be
    turned on and off, it can be themed and the list style can be
    configured.
  </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-help"></a>2.5. Help</h3></div></div></div><p>
The help screen is meant to offer a quick help to the user. It lists the
current configuration of key bindings and their associated commands
including a short description, and currently unbound functions that
still need to be associated with a key binding (or alternatively, they
can be called via the Mutt command prompt).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-compose"></a>2.6. Compose Menu</h3></div></div></div><p>
The compose menu features a split screen containing the information
which really matter before actually sending a message by mail: who gets
the message as what (recipients and who gets what kind of
copy). Additionally, users may set security options like deciding
whether to sign, encrypt or sign and encrypt a message with/for what
keys. Also, it's used to attach messages, to re-edit any attachment
including the message itself.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-alias"></a>2.7. Alias Menu</h3></div></div></div><p>
The alias menu is used to help users finding the recipients of
messages. For users who need to contact many people, there's no need to
remember addresses or names completely because it allows for searching,
too. The alias mechanism and thus the alias menu also features grouping
several addresses by a shorter nickname, the actual alias, so that users
don't have to select each single recipient manually.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-attach"></a>2.8. Attachment Menu</h3></div></div></div><p>
As will be later discussed in detail, Mutt features a good and stable
MIME implementation, that is, it supports sending and receiving messages
of arbitrary MIME types. The attachment menu displays a message's
structure in detail: what content parts are attached to which parent
part (which gives a true tree structure), which type is of what type and
what size.  Single parts may saved, deleted or modified to offer great
and easy access to message's internals.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="intro-list"></a>2.9. List Menu</h3></div></div></div><p>
The list menu assists with operations on mailing lists. RFC 2369 defines
several interactions with mailing lists and list memberships that can
be specified within the email message: subscribe, unsubscribe, contact
the list owner, etc. When you invoke the list menu, these interactions
are made accessible as menu options.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="menus"></a>3. Moving Around in Menus</h2></div></div></div><p>
The most important navigation keys common to line- or entry-based menus
are shown in <a class="xref" href="#tab-keys-nav-line" title="Table 2.1. Most common navigation keys in entry-based menus">Table 2.1, “Most common navigation keys in entry-based menus”</a> and in <a class="xref" href="#tab-keys-nav-page" title="Table 2.2. Most common navigation keys in page-based menus">Table 2.2, “Most common navigation keys in page-based menus”</a> for page-based menus.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-keys-nav-line"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.1. Most common navigation keys in entry-based menus</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Most common navigation keys in entry-based menus" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>j or &lt;Down&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-entry&gt;</code></td><td>move to the next entry</td></tr><tr><td>k or &lt;Up&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-entry&gt;</code></td><td>move to the previous entry</td></tr><tr><td>z or &lt;PageDn&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;page-down&gt;</code></td><td>go to the next page</td></tr><tr><td>Z or &lt;PageUp&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;page-up&gt;</code></td><td>go to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td>= or &lt;Home&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;first-entry&gt;</code></td><td>jump to the first entry</td></tr><tr><td>* or &lt;End&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;last-entry&gt;</code></td><td>jump to the last entry</td></tr><tr><td>q</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;quit&gt;</code></td><td>exit the current menu</td></tr><tr><td>?</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;help&gt;</code></td><td>list all keybindings for the current menu</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><div class="table"><a id="tab-keys-nav-page"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.2. Most common navigation keys in page-based menus</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Most common navigation keys in page-based menus" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>J or &lt;Return&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-line&gt;</code></td><td>scroll down one line</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Backspace&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-line&gt;</code></td><td>scroll up one line</td></tr><tr><td>K, &lt;Space&gt; or &lt;PageDn&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-page&gt;</code></td><td>move to the next page</td></tr><tr><td>- or &lt;PageUp&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-page&gt;</code></td><td>move the previous page</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Home&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;top&gt;</code></td><td>move to the top</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;End&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;bottom&gt;</code></td><td>move to the bottom</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="editing"></a>4. Editing Input Fields</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="editing-intro"></a>4.1. Introduction</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt has a built-in line editor for inputting text, e.g. email addresses
or filenames. The keys used to manipulate text input are very similar to
those of Emacs. See <a class="xref" href="#tab-keys-editor" title="Table 2.3. Most common line editor keys">Table 2.3, “Most common line editor keys”</a> for a full
reference of available functions, their default key bindings, and short
descriptions.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-keys-editor"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.3. Most common line editor keys</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Most common line editor keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>^A or &lt;Home&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;bol&gt;</code></td><td>move to the start of the line</td></tr><tr><td>^B or &lt;Left&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;backward-char&gt;</code></td><td>move back one char</td></tr><tr><td>Esc B</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;backward-word&gt;</code></td><td>move back one word</td></tr><tr><td>^D or &lt;Delete&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-char&gt;</code></td><td>delete the char under the cursor</td></tr><tr><td>^E or &lt;End&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;eol&gt;</code></td><td>move to the end of the line</td></tr><tr><td>^F or &lt;Right&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward-char&gt;</code></td><td>move forward one char</td></tr><tr><td>Esc F</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward-word&gt;</code></td><td>move forward one word</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Tab&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;complete&gt;</code></td><td>complete filename, alias, or label</td></tr><tr><td>^T</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;complete-query&gt;</code></td><td>complete address with query</td></tr><tr><td>^K</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;kill-eol&gt;</code></td><td>delete to the end of the line</td></tr><tr><td>Esc d</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;kill-eow&gt;</code></td><td>delete to the end of the word</td></tr><tr><td>^W</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;kill-word&gt;</code></td><td>kill the word in front of the cursor</td></tr><tr><td>^U</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;kill-line&gt;</code></td><td>delete entire line</td></tr><tr><td>^V</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;quote-char&gt;</code></td><td>quote the next typed key</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Up&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;history-up&gt;</code></td><td>recall previous string from history</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Down&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;history-down&gt;</code></td><td>recall next string from history</td></tr><tr><td>^R</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;history-search&gt;</code></td><td>use current input to search history</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;BackSpace&gt;</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;backspace&gt;</code></td><td>kill the char in front of the cursor</td></tr><tr><td>Esc u</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;upcase-word&gt;</code></td><td>convert word to upper case</td></tr><tr><td>Esc l</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;downcase-word&gt;</code></td><td>convert word to lower case</td></tr><tr><td>Esc c</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;capitalize-word&gt;</code></td><td>capitalize the word</td></tr><tr><td>^G</td><td>n/a</td><td>abort</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>n/a</td><td>finish editing</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
<code class="literal">^G</code> is the generic <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">abort</span>”</span> key
in Mutt.  In addition to the line editor, it can also be used
to abort prompts.  Generally, typing <code class="literal">^G</code> at a
confirmation prompt or line editor should abort the entire action.
</p><p>
You can remap the <span class="emphasis"><em>editor</em></span> functions using the <a class="link" href="#bind" title="6. Changing the Default Key Bindings"><span class="command"><strong>bind</strong></span></a> command.  For example, to
make the &lt;Delete&gt; key delete the character in front of the cursor
rather than under, you could use:
</p><pre class="screen">
bind editor &lt;delete&gt; backspace
</pre></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="editing-history"></a>4.2. History</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt maintains a history for the built-in editor.  The number of items
is controlled by the <a class="link" href="#history" title="3.124. history">$history</a> variable
and can be made persistent using an external file specified using <a class="link" href="#history-file" title="3.125. history_file">$history_file</a> and <a class="link" href="#save-history" title="3.293. save_history">$save_history</a>.  You may cycle through them
at an editor prompt by using the <code class="literal">&lt;history-up&gt;</code>
and/or <code class="literal">&lt;history-down&gt;</code> commands.  Mutt will
remember the currently entered text as you cycle through history, and
will wrap around to the initial entry line.
</p><p>
Mutt maintains several distinct history lists, one for each of the
following categories:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><code class="literal">.muttrc</code> commands</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>addresses and aliases</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>shell commands</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>filenames</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>mailboxes</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>patterns</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>everything else</p></li></ul></div><p>
Mutt automatically filters out consecutively repeated items from the
history.  If <a class="link" href="#history-remove-dups" title="3.126. history_remove_dups">$history_remove_dups</a>
is set, all repeated items are removed from the history.  It also mimics the
behavior of some shells by ignoring items starting with a space. The latter
feature can be useful in macros to not clobber the history's valuable entries
with unwanted entries.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="reading"></a>5. Reading Mail</h2></div></div></div><p>
Similar to many other mail clients, there are two modes in which mail is
read in Mutt.  The first is a list of messages in the mailbox, which is
called the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">index</span>”</span> menu in Mutt.  The second mode is the
display of the message contents.  This is called the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">pager.</span>”</span>
</p><p>
The next few sections describe the functions provided in each of these
modes.
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="index-menu"></a>5.1. The Message Index</h3></div></div></div><p>
Common keys used to navigate through and manage messages in the index
are shown in <a class="xref" href="#tab-key-index" title="Table 2.4. Most common message index keys">Table 2.4, “Most common message index keys”</a>. How messages are presented
in the index menu can be customized using the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> variable.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-index"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.4. Most common message index keys</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Most common message index keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>c</td><td>change to a different mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>Esc c</td><td>change to a folder in read-only mode</td></tr><tr><td>C</td><td>copy the current message to another mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>Esc C</td><td>decode a message and copy it to a folder</td></tr><tr><td>Esc s</td><td>decode a message and save it to a folder</td></tr><tr><td>D</td><td>delete messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td>delete the current message</td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>mark as important</td></tr><tr><td>l</td><td>show messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td>N</td><td>mark message as new</td></tr><tr><td>o</td><td>change the current sort method</td></tr><tr><td>O</td><td>reverse sort the mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>q</td><td>save changes and exit</td></tr><tr><td>s</td><td>save-message</td></tr><tr><td>T</td><td>tag messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td>t</td><td>toggle the tag on a message</td></tr><tr><td>Esc t</td><td>toggle tag on entire message thread</td></tr><tr><td>U</td><td>undelete messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td>u</td><td>undelete-message</td></tr><tr><td>v</td><td>view-attachments</td></tr><tr><td>x</td><td>abort changes and exit</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>display-message</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Tab&gt;</td><td>jump to the next new or unread message</td></tr><tr><td>@</td><td>show the author's full e-mail address</td></tr><tr><td>$</td><td>save changes to mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>/</td><td>search</td></tr><tr><td>Esc /</td><td>search-reverse</td></tr><tr><td>^L</td><td>clear and redraw the screen</td></tr><tr><td>^T</td><td>untag messages matching a pattern</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
In addition to who sent the message and the subject, a short summary of
the disposition of each message is printed beside the message number.
Zero or more of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">flags</span>”</span> in <a class="xref" href="#tab-msg-status-flags" title="Table 2.5. Message status flags">Table 2.5, “Message status flags”</a> may appear, some of which can be turned
on or off using these functions: <code class="literal">&lt;set-flag&gt;</code> and
<code class="literal">&lt;clear-flag&gt;</code> bound by default to
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">w</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">W</span>”</span> respectively.
</p><p>
Furthermore, the flags in <a class="xref" href="#tab-msg-recip-flags" title="Table 2.6. Message recipient flags">Table 2.6, “Message recipient flags”</a> reflect
who the message is addressed to. They can be customized with the <a class="link" href="#to-chars" title="3.395. to_chars">$to_chars</a> variable.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-msg-status-flags"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.5. Message status flags</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Message status flags" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Flag</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>D</td><td>message is deleted (is marked for deletion)</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td>message has attachments marked for deletion</td></tr><tr><td>K</td><td>contains a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td>N</td><td>message is new</td></tr><tr><td>O</td><td>message is old</td></tr><tr><td>P</td><td>message is PGP encrypted</td></tr><tr><td>r</td><td>message has been replied to</td></tr><tr><td>S</td><td>message is signed, and the signature is successfully verified</td></tr><tr><td>s</td><td>message is signed</td></tr><tr><td>!</td><td>message is flagged</td></tr><tr><td>*</td><td>message is tagged</td></tr><tr><td>n</td><td>thread contains new messages (only if collapsed)</td></tr><tr><td>o</td><td>thread contains old messages (only if collapsed)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><div class="table"><a id="tab-msg-recip-flags"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.6. Message recipient flags</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Message recipient flags" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Flag</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>+</td><td>message is to you and you only</td></tr><tr><td>T</td><td>message is to you, but also to or CC'ed to others</td></tr><tr><td>C</td><td>message is CC'ed to you</td></tr><tr><td>F</td><td>message is from you</td></tr><tr><td>L</td><td>message is sent to a subscribed mailing list</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager-menu"></a>5.2. The Pager</h3></div></div></div><p>
By default, Mutt uses its built-in pager to display the contents of
messages (an external pager such as <code class="literal">less(1)</code> can be
configured, see <a class="link" href="#pager" title="3.203. pager">$pager</a> variable).  The
pager is very similar to the Unix program <code class="literal">less(1)</code>
though not nearly as featureful.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-pager"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.7. Most common pager keys</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Most common pager keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>go down one line</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;Space&gt;</td><td>display the next page (or next message if at the end of a message)</td></tr><tr><td>-</td><td>go back to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td>n</td><td>search for next match</td></tr><tr><td>S</td><td>skip beyond quoted text</td></tr><tr><td>T</td><td>toggle display of quoted text</td></tr><tr><td>?</td><td>show keybindings</td></tr><tr><td>/</td><td>regular expression search</td></tr><tr><td>Esc /</td><td>backward regular expression search</td></tr><tr><td>\</td><td>toggle highlighting of search matches</td></tr><tr><td>^</td><td>jump to the top of the message</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
In addition to key bindings in <a class="xref" href="#tab-key-pager" title="Table 2.7. Most common pager keys">Table 2.7, “Most common pager keys”</a>, many of
the functions from the index menu are also available in the pager, such
as <code class="literal">&lt;delete-message&gt;</code> or
<code class="literal">&lt;copy-message&gt;</code> (this is one advantage over
using an external pager to view messages).
</p><p>
Also, the internal pager supports a couple other advanced features. For
one, it will accept and translate the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">standard</span>”</span> nroff
sequences for bold and underline. These sequences are a series of either
the letter, backspace (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^H</span>”</span>), the letter again for bold or
the letter, backspace, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">_</span>”</span> for denoting underline. Mutt
will attempt to display these in bold and underline respectively if your
terminal supports them. If not, you can use the bold and underline <a class="link" href="#color" title="11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes">color</a> objects to specify a
<span class="command"><strong>color</strong></span> or mono attribute for them.
</p><p>
Additionally, the internal pager supports the ANSI escape sequences for
character attributes.  Mutt translates them into the correct color and
character settings.  The sequences Mutt supports are:
</p><pre class="screen">
\e[<span class="emphasis"><em>Ps</em></span>;<span class="emphasis"><em>Ps</em></span>;..<span class="emphasis"><em>Ps</em></span>;m
</pre><p>
where <span class="emphasis"><em>Ps</em></span> can be one of the codes shown in <a class="xref" href="#tab-ansi-esc" title="Table 2.8. ANSI escape sequences">Table 2.8, “ANSI escape sequences”</a>.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-ansi-esc"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.8. ANSI escape sequences</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="ANSI escape sequences" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Escape code</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>0</td><td>All attributes off</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Bold on</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Underline on</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Blink on</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Reverse video on</td></tr><tr><td>3<span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;color&gt;</em></span></td><td>Foreground color is <span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;color&gt;</em></span> (see <a class="xref" href="#tab-color" title="Table 2.9. Color sequences">Table 2.9, “Color sequences”</a>)</td></tr><tr><td>4<span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;color&gt;</em></span></td><td>Background color is <span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;color&gt;</em></span> (see <a class="xref" href="#tab-color" title="Table 2.9. Color sequences">Table 2.9, “Color sequences”</a>)</td></tr><tr><td>38;5;<span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;color&gt;</em></span></td><td>Foreground color is an 8-bit <span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;color&gt;</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>48;5;<span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;color&gt;</em></span></td><td>Background color is an 8-bit <span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;color&gt;</em></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><div class="table"><a id="tab-color"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.9. Color sequences</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Color sequences" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Color code</th><th>Color</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>0</td><td>Black</td></tr><tr><td>1</td><td>Red</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Green</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Yellow</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Blue</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Magenta</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Cyan</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>White</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
Mutt uses these attributes for handling <code class="literal">text/enriched</code>
messages, and they can also be used by an external <a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview">autoview</a> script for highlighting purposes.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If you change the colors for your display, for example by changing the
color associated with color2 for your xterm, then that color will be
used instead of green.
</p></div><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Note that the search commands in the pager take regular expressions,
which are not quite the same as the more complex <a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">patterns</a> used by the search command in the
index. This is because patterns are used to select messages by criteria
whereas the pager already displays a selected message.
</p></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="threads"></a>5.3. Threaded Mode</h3></div></div></div><p>
So-called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">threads</span>”</span> provide a hierarchy of messages where
replies are linked to their parent message(s). This organizational form
is extremely useful in mailing lists where different parts of the
discussion diverge. Mutt displays threads as a tree structure.
</p><p>
In Mutt, when a mailbox is <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">sorted</a>
by <span class="emphasis"><em>threads</em></span>, there are a few additional functions
available in the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span>
and <span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> modes as shown in
<a class="xref" href="#tab-key-threads" title="Table 2.10. Most common thread mode keys">Table 2.10, “Most common thread mode keys”</a>.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-threads"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.10. Most common thread mode keys</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Most common thread mode keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>^D</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-thread&gt;</code></td><td>delete all messages in the current thread</td></tr><tr><td>^U</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-thread&gt;</code></td><td>undelete all messages in the current thread</td></tr><tr><td>^N</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-thread&gt;</code></td><td>jump to the start of the next thread</td></tr><tr><td>^P</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-thread&gt;</code></td><td>jump to the start of the previous thread</td></tr><tr><td>^R</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;read-thread&gt;</code></td><td>mark the current thread as read</td></tr><tr><td>Esc d</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>delete all messages in the current subthread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc u</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>undelete all messages in the current subthread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc n</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>jump to the start of the next subthread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc p</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>jump to the start of the previous subthread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc r</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;read-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>mark the current subthread as read</td></tr><tr><td>Esc t</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-thread&gt;</code></td><td>toggle the tag on the current thread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc v</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;collapse-thread&gt;</code></td><td>toggle collapse for the current thread</td></tr><tr><td>Esc V</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;collapse-all&gt;</code></td><td>toggle collapse for all threads</td></tr><tr><td>P</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;parent-message&gt;</code></td><td>jump to parent message in thread</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
In the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span>, the subject of threaded children
messages will be prepended with thread tree characters.  By default,
the subject itself will not be duplicated unless <a class="link" href="#hide-thread-subject" title="3.121. hide_thread_subject">$hide_thread_subject</a> is unset.
Special characters will be added to the thread tree as detailed in
<a class="xref" href="#tab-thread-chars" title="Table 2.11. Special Thread Characters">Table 2.11, “Special Thread Characters”</a>.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-thread-chars"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.11. Special Thread Characters</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Special Thread Characters" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Character</th><th>Description</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>&amp;</td><td>hidden message</td><td>see <a class="link" href="#hide-limited" title="3.119. hide_limited">$hide_limited</a> and
        <a class="link" href="#hide-top-limited" title="3.122. hide_top_limited">$hide_top_limited</a></td></tr><tr><td>?</td><td>missing message</td><td>see <a class="link" href="#hide-missing" title="3.120. hide_missing">$hide_missing</a> and
        <a class="link" href="#hide-top-missing" title="3.123. hide_top_missing">$hide_top_missing</a></td></tr><tr><td>*</td><td>pseudo thread</td><td>see <a class="link" href="#strict-threads" title="3.386. strict_threads">$strict_threads</a>;
        not displayed when
        <a class="link" href="#narrow-tree" title="3.200. narrow_tree">$narrow_tree</a> is set</td></tr><tr><td>=</td><td>duplicate thread</td><td>see <a class="link" href="#duplicate-threads" title="3.83. duplicate_threads">$duplicate_threads</a>;
        not displayed when
        <a class="link" href="#narrow-tree" title="3.200. narrow_tree">$narrow_tree</a> is set</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
Collapsing a thread displays only the first message in the thread and
hides the others. This is useful when threads contain so many messages
that you can only see a handful of threads on the screen. See %M in
<a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>.  For example, you
could use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%?M?(#%03M)&amp;(%4l)?</span>”</span> in <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> to optionally display the
number of hidden messages if the thread is collapsed. The
<code class="literal">%?&lt;char&gt;?&lt;if-part&gt;&amp;&lt;else-part&gt;?</code>
syntax is explained in detail in <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-conditionals" title="32.2. Conditionals">format string conditionals</a>.
</p><p>
Technically, every reply should contain a list of its parent messages in
the thread tree, but not all do. In these cases, Mutt groups them by
subject which can be controlled using the <a class="link" href="#strict-threads" title="3.386. strict_threads">$strict_threads</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reading-misc"></a>5.4. Miscellaneous Functions</h3></div></div></div><p>
In addition, the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> menus have these interesting functions:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;check-stats&gt;</code><a id="check-stats"></a>
</span></dt><dd><p>
Calculate statistics for all monitored mailboxes declared using the
<span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span> command.
It will calculate statistics despite
<a class="link" href="#mail-check-stats" title="3.165. mail_check_stats">$mail_check_stats</a> being unset.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;create-alias&gt;</code><a id="create-alias"></a>
(default: a)
</span></dt><dd><p>
Creates a new alias based upon the current message (or prompts for a new
one).  Once editing is complete, an <a class="link" href="#alias" title="5. Defining/Using Aliases"><span class="command"><strong>alias</strong></span></a> command is added to the
file specified by the <a class="link" href="#alias-file" title="3.5. alias_file">$alias_file</a>
variable for future use
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Mutt does not read the <a class="link" href="#alias-file" title="3.5. alias_file">$alias_file</a>
upon startup so you must explicitly <a class="link" href="#source" title="30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File"><span class="command"><strong>source</strong></span></a> the file.
</p></div></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;check-traditional-pgp&gt;</code><a id="check-traditional-pgp"></a> (default: Esc P)
</span></dt><dd><p>
This function will search the current message for content signed or
encrypted with PGP the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">traditional</span>”</span> way, that is, without
proper MIME tagging.  Technically, this function will temporarily change
the MIME content types of the body parts containing PGP data; this is
similar to the <a class="link" href="#edit-type"><code class="literal">&lt;edit-type&gt;</code></a>
function's effect.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;edit&gt;</code><a id="edit"></a> (default: e)
</span></dt><dd><p>
This command (available in the index and pager) allows you to edit the
raw current message as it's present in the mail folder.  After you have
finished editing, the changed message will be appended to the current
folder, and the original message will be marked for deletion; if the
message is unchanged it won't be replaced.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;edit-type&gt;</code><a id="edit-type"></a> (default:
^E on the attachment menu, and in the pager and index menus; ^T on the
compose menu)
</span></dt><dd><p>
This command is used to temporarily edit an attachment's content type to
fix, for instance, bogus character set parameters.  When invoked from
the index or from the pager, you'll have the opportunity to edit the
top-level attachment's content type.  On the <a class="link" href="#attach-menu" title="1.3. The Attachment Menu">attachment menu</a>, you can change any
attachment's content type. These changes are not persistent, and get
lost upon changing folders.
</p><p>
Note that this command is also available on the <a class="link" href="#compose-menu" title="1.4. The Compose Menu">compose menu</a>.  There, it's used to
fine-tune the properties of attachments you are going to send.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;enter-command&gt;</code><a id="enter-command"></a>
(default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">:</span>”</span>)
</span></dt><dd><p>
This command is used to execute any command you would normally put in a
configuration file.  A common use is to check the settings of variables,
or in conjunction with <a class="link" href="#macro" title="10. Keyboard Macros">macros</a> to change
settings on the fly.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;extract-keys&gt;</code><a id="extract-keys"></a>
(default: ^K)
</span></dt><dd><p>
This command extracts PGP public keys from the current or tagged
message(s) and adds them to your PGP public key ring.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;forget-passphrase&gt;</code><a id="forget-passphrase"></a> (default: ^F)
</span></dt><dd><p>
This command wipes the passphrase(s) from memory. It is useful, if you
misspelled the passphrase.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;list-reply&gt;</code><a id="list-reply"></a> (default:
L)
</span></dt><dd><p>
Reply to the current or tagged message(s) by extracting any addresses
which match the regular expressions given by the <a class="link" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists"><span class="command"><strong>lists</strong></span> or
<span class="command"><strong>subscribe</strong></span></a> commands, but also honor any
<code class="literal">Mail-Followup-To</code> header(s) if the <a class="link" href="#honor-followup-to" title="3.128. honor_followup_to">$honor_followup_to</a> configuration
variable is set.  In addition, the <code class="literal">List-Post</code> header field is
examined for <code class="literal">mailto:</code> URLs specifying a mailing list address.
Using this when replying to messages posted to mailing lists helps avoid
duplicate copies being sent to the author of the message you are replying to.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;pipe-message&gt;</code><a id="pipe-message"></a>
(default: |)
</span></dt><dd><p>
Asks for an external Unix command and pipes the current or tagged
message(s) to it.  The variables <a class="link" href="#pipe-decode" title="3.243. pipe_decode">$pipe_decode</a>, <a class="link" href="#pipe-decode-weed" title="3.244. pipe_decode_weed">$pipe_decode_weed</a>, <a class="link" href="#pipe-split" title="3.246. pipe_split">$pipe_split</a>, <a class="link" href="#pipe-sep" title="3.245. pipe_sep">$pipe_sep</a> and <a class="link" href="#wait-key" title="3.411. wait_key">$wait_key</a> control the exact behavior of this
function.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;resend-message&gt;</code><a id="resend-message"></a>
(default: Esc e)
</span></dt><dd><p>
Mutt takes the current message as a template for a new message.  This
function is best described as "recall from arbitrary folders".  It can
conveniently be used to forward MIME messages while preserving the
original mail structure. Note that the amount of headers included here
depends on the value of the <a class="link" href="#weed" title="3.412. weed">$weed</a> variable.
</p><p>
This function is also available from the attachment menu. You can use
this to easily resend a message which was included with a bounce message
as a <code class="literal">message/rfc822</code> body part.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;shell-escape&gt;</code><a id="shell-escape"></a>
(default: !)
</span></dt><dd><p>
Asks for an external Unix command and executes it.  The <a class="link" href="#wait-key" title="3.411. wait_key">$wait_key</a> can be used to control whether Mutt
will wait for a key to be pressed when the command returns (presumably
to let the user read the output of the command), based on the return
status of the named command. If no command is given, an interactive
shell is executed.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;skip-headers&gt;</code><a id="skip-headers"></a>
(default: H)
</span></dt><dd><p>
This function will skip past the headers of the current message.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;skip-quoted&gt;</code><a id="skip-quoted"></a>
(default: S)
</span></dt><dd><p>
This function will go to the next line of non-quoted text which comes
after a line of quoted text in the internal pager.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">&lt;toggle-quoted&gt;</code><a id="toggle-quoted"></a>
(default: T)
</span></dt><dd><p>
The pager uses the <a class="link" href="#quote-regexp" title="3.272. quote_regexp">$quote_regexp</a>
variable to detect quoted text when displaying the body of the message.
This function toggles the display of the quoted material in the message.
It is particularly useful when being interested in just the response and
there is a large amount of quoted text in the way.
</p></dd></dl></div></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="sending"></a>6. Sending Mail</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sending-intro"></a>6.1. Introduction</h3></div></div></div><p>
The bindings shown in <a class="xref" href="#tab-key-send" title="Table 2.12. Most common mail sending keys">Table 2.12, “Most common mail sending keys”</a> are available in
the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> to start a
new message.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-send"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.12. Most common mail sending keys</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Most common mail sending keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>m</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;mail&gt;</code></td><td>compose a new message</td></tr><tr><td>r</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;reply&gt;</code></td><td>reply to sender</td></tr><tr><td>g</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;group-reply&gt;</code></td><td>reply to all recipients</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td><code class="literal">&lt;group-chat-reply&gt;</code></td><td>reply to all recipients preserving To/Cc</td></tr><tr><td>L</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-reply&gt;</code></td><td>reply to mailing list address</td></tr><tr><td>f</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward&gt;</code></td><td>forward message</td></tr><tr><td>b</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;bounce&gt;</code></td><td>bounce (remail) message</td></tr><tr><td>Esc k</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;mail-key&gt;</code></td><td>mail a PGP public key to someone</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>Bouncing</em></span> a message sends the message as-is to the
recipient you specify.  <span class="emphasis"><em>Forwarding</em></span> a message allows
you to add comments or modify the message you are forwarding.  These
items are discussed in greater detail in the next section <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#forwarding-mail" title="7. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail">Forwarding and Bouncing Mail</a>.</span>”</span>
</p><p>
Mutt will then enter the <span class="emphasis"><em>compose</em></span> menu and prompt
you for the recipients to place on the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To:</span>”</span> header field
when you hit <code class="literal">m</code> to start a new message. Next, it will
ask you for the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Subject:</span>”</span> field for the message, providing
a default if you are replying to or forwarding a message. You again have
the chance to adjust recipients, subject, and security settings right
before actually sending the message. See also <a class="link" href="#askcc" title="3.12. askcc">$askcc</a>, <a class="link" href="#askbcc" title="3.11. askbcc">$askbcc</a>,
<a class="link" href="#autoedit" title="3.28. autoedit">$autoedit</a>, <a class="link" href="#bounce" title="3.34. bounce">$bounce</a>, <a class="link" href="#fast-reply" title="3.91. fast_reply">$fast_reply</a>, and <a class="link" href="#include" title="3.155. include">$include</a> for changing how and if Mutt asks
these questions.
</p><p>
When replying, Mutt fills these fields with proper values depending on
the reply type.  The types of replying supported are:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">Simple reply</span></dt><dd><p>
Reply to the author directly.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Group reply</span></dt><dd><p>
Reply to the author; cc all other recipients; consults
<a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses"><span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span></a>
and excludes you.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Group Chat reply</span></dt><dd><p>
Reply to the author and other recipients in the To list;
cc other recipients in the Cc list; consults
<a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses"><span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span></a>
and excludes you.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">List reply</span></dt><dd><p>
Reply to all mailing list addresses found, either specified via
configuration or auto-detected.  See <a class="xref" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists">Section 14, “Mailing Lists”</a> for
details.
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
After getting recipients for new messages, forwards or replies, Mutt
will then automatically start your <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a>
on the message body. If the <a class="link" href="#edit-headers" title="3.84. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a> variable is set, the headers
will be at the top of the message in your editor; the message body
should start on a new line after the existing blank line at the end of
headers.  Any messages you are replying to will be added in sort order
to the message, with appropriate
<a class="link" href="#attribution" title="3.20. attribution">$attribution</a>, <a class="link" href="#indent-string" title="3.158. indent_string">$indent_string</a> and <a class="link" href="#post-indent-string" title="3.257. post_indent_string">$post_indent_string</a>.  When
forwarding a message, if the <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> variable is unset, a copy of
the forwarded message will be included.  If you have specified a <a class="link" href="#signature" title="3.321. signature">$signature</a>, it will be appended to the
message.
</p><p>
Once you have finished editing the body of your mail message, you are
returned to the <span class="emphasis"><em>compose</em></span> menu providing the
functions shown in <a class="xref" href="#tab-func-compose" title="Table 2.13. Most common compose menu keys">Table 2.13, “Most common compose menu keys”</a> to modify, send or
postpone the message.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-func-compose"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.13. Most common compose menu keys</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Most common compose menu keys" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Key</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>a</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;attach-file&gt;</code></td><td>attach a file</td></tr><tr><td>A</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;attach-message&gt;</code></td><td>attach message(s) to the message</td></tr><tr><td>Esc k</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;attach-key&gt;</code></td><td>attach a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-description&gt;</code></td><td>edit description on attachment</td></tr><tr><td>D</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;detach-file&gt;</code></td><td>detach a file</td></tr><tr><td>t</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-to&gt;</code></td><td>edit the To field</td></tr><tr><td>Esc f</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-from&gt;</code></td><td>edit the From field</td></tr><tr><td>r</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-reply-to&gt;</code></td><td>edit the Reply-To field</td></tr><tr><td>c</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-cc&gt;</code></td><td>edit the Cc field</td></tr><tr><td>b</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-bcc&gt;</code></td><td>edit the Bcc field</td></tr><tr><td>y</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;send-message&gt;</code></td><td>send the message</td></tr><tr><td>s</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-subject&gt;</code></td><td>edit the Subject</td></tr><tr><td>S</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;smime-menu&gt;</code></td><td>select S/MIME options</td></tr><tr><td>f</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-fcc&gt;</code></td><td>specify an <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Fcc</span>”</span> mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>p</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;pgp-menu&gt;</code></td><td>select PGP options</td></tr><tr><td>P</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;postpone-message&gt;</code></td><td>postpone this message until later</td></tr><tr><td>q</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;quit&gt;</code></td><td>quit (abort) sending the message</td></tr><tr><td>w</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;write-fcc&gt;</code></td><td>write the message to a folder</td></tr><tr><td>i</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;ispell&gt;</code></td><td>check spelling (if available on your system)</td></tr><tr><td>^F</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;forget-passphrase&gt;</code></td><td>wipe passphrase(s) from memory</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
The compose menu is also used to edit the attachments for a message
which can be either files or other messages. The
<code class="literal">&lt;attach-message&gt;</code> function to will prompt you
for a folder to attach messages from. You can now tag messages in that
folder and they will be attached to the message you are sending.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Note that certain operations like composing a new mail, replying,
forwarding, etc. are not permitted when you are in that folder. The %r
in <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a> will change to a
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">A</span>”</span> to indicate that you are in attach-message mode.
</p></div><p>
After exiting the compose menu via <code class="literal">&lt;send-message&gt;</code>,
the message will be sent.  If configured and enabled, this can happen via
<a class="link" href="#sending-mixmaster" title="10. Sending Anonymous Messages via Mixmaster">mixmaster</a> or
<a class="link" href="#smtp" title="5. SMTP Support">$smtp_url</a>.  Otherwise
<a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a> will be invoked.  Prior to
version 1.13, Mutt enabled <a class="link" href="#write-bcc" title="3.417. write_bcc">$write_bcc</a> by
default, assuming the MTA would automatically remove a
<code class="literal">Bcc:</code> header as part of delivery.  Starting with 1.13, the
option is unset by default, but no longer affects the fcc copy of the message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="edit-header"></a>6.2. Editing the Message Header</h3></div></div></div><p>
When editing the header because of <a class="link" href="#edit-headers" title="3.84. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a> being set, there are a
several pseudo headers available which will not be included in sent
messages but trigger special Mutt behavior.
</p><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="fcc-header"></a>6.2.1. Fcc: Pseudo Header</h4></div></div></div><p>
If you specify
</p><p>
<code class="literal">Fcc:</code> <span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span>
</p><p>
as a header, Mutt will pick up <span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span> just as if
you had used the <code class="literal">&lt;edit-fcc&gt;</code> function in the
<span class="emphasis"><em>compose</em></span> menu.  It can later be changed from the
compose menu.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="attach-header"></a>6.2.2. Attach: Pseudo Header</h4></div></div></div><p>
You can also attach files to your message by specifying
</p><p>
<code class="literal">Attach:</code> <span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span>
[ <span class="emphasis"><em>description</em></span> ]
</p><p>
where <span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span> is the file to attach and
<span class="emphasis"><em>description</em></span> is an optional string to use as the
description of the attached file. Spaces in filenames have to be escaped
using backslash (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span>).  The file can be removed as well as
more added from the compose menu.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="pgp-header"></a>6.2.3. Pgp: Pseudo Header</h4></div></div></div><p>
If you want to use PGP, you can specify
</p><p>
<code class="literal">Pgp:</code> [ <code class="literal">E</code> | <code class="literal">S</code> | <code class="literal">S</code><span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;id&gt;</em></span> ]

</p><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">E</span>”</span> selects encryption, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">S</span>”</span> selects signing
and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">S&lt;id&gt;</span>”</span> selects signing with the given key,
setting <a class="link" href="#pgp-sign-as" title="3.235. pgp_sign_as">$pgp_sign_as</a> for the
duration of the message composition session. The selection can later
be changed in the compose menu.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="in-reply-to-header"></a>6.2.4. In-Reply-To: Header</h4></div></div></div><p>
When replying to messages, the <span class="emphasis"><em>In-Reply-To:</em></span> header
contains the Message-Id of the message(s) you reply to. If you remove or
modify its value, Mutt will not generate a
<span class="emphasis"><em>References:</em></span> field, which allows you to create a new
message thread, for example to create a new message to a mailing list
without having to enter the mailing list's address.
</p><p>
If you intend to start a new thread by replying, please make really sure
you remove the <span class="emphasis"><em>In-Reply-To:</em></span> header in your
editor. Otherwise, though you'll produce a technically valid reply, some
netiquette guardians will be annoyed by this so-called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">thread
hijacking</span>”</span>.
</p></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sending-crypto"></a>6.3. Sending Cryptographically Signed/Encrypted Messages</h3></div></div></div><p>
If you have told Mutt to PGP or S/MIME encrypt a message, it will guide
you through a key selection process when you try to send the message.
Mutt will not ask you any questions about keys which have a certified
user ID matching one of the message recipients' mail addresses.
However, there may be situations in which there are several keys, weakly
certified user ID fields, or where no matching keys can be found.
</p><p>
In these cases, you are dropped into a menu with a list of keys from
which you can select one.  When you quit this menu, or Mutt can't find
any matching keys, you are prompted for a user ID.  You can, as usually,
abort this prompt using <code class="literal">^G</code>.  When you do so, Mutt
will return to the compose screen.
</p><p>
Once you have successfully finished the key selection, the message will
be encrypted using the selected public keys when sent out.
</p><p>
To ensure you can view encrypted messages you have sent, you
may wish to set <a class="link" href="#pgp-self-encrypt" title="3.233. pgp_self_encrypt">$pgp_self_encrypt</a>
and <a class="link" href="#pgp-default-key" title="3.218. pgp_default_key">$pgp_default_key</a> for PGP, or
<a class="link" href="#smime-self-encrypt" title="3.345. smime_self_encrypt">$smime_self_encrypt</a>
and <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a> for S/MIME.
</p><p>
Most fields of the entries in the key selection menu (see also <a class="link" href="#pgp-entry-format" title="3.221. pgp_entry_format">$pgp_entry_format</a>) have obvious
meanings.  But some explanations on the capabilities, flags, and
validity fields are in order.
</p><p>
The flags sequence (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%f</span>”</span>) will expand to one of the flags
in <a class="xref" href="#tab-pgp-menuflags" title="Table 2.14. PGP key menu flags">Table 2.14, “PGP key menu flags”</a>.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-pgp-menuflags"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 2.14. PGP key menu flags</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="PGP key menu flags" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Flag</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>R</td><td>The key has been revoked and can't be used.</td></tr><tr><td>X</td><td>The key is expired and can't be used.</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td>You have marked the key as disabled.</td></tr><tr><td>c</td><td>There are unknown critical self-signature packets.</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
The capabilities field (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%c</span>”</span>) expands to a two-character
sequence representing a key's capabilities.  The first character gives
the key's encryption capabilities: A minus sign (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span>) means
that the key cannot be used for encryption.  A dot (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">.</span>”</span>)
means that it's marked as a signature key in one of the user IDs, but
may also be used for encryption.  The letter <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">e</span>”</span> indicates
that this key can be used for encryption.
</p><p>
The second character indicates the key's signing capabilities.  Once
again, a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span> implies <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">not for signing</span>”</span>,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">.</span>”</span> implies that the key is marked as an encryption key in
one of the user-ids, and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">s</span>”</span> denotes a key which can be
used for signing.
</p><p>
Finally, the validity field (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%t</span>”</span>) indicates how
well-certified a user-id is.  A question mark (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">?</span>”</span>)
indicates undefined validity, a minus character (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span>) marks
an untrusted association, a space character means a partially trusted
association, and a plus character (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span>) indicates complete
validity.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ff"></a>6.4. Sending Format=Flowed Messages</h3></div></div></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="ff-concept"></a>6.4.1. Concept</h4></div></div></div><p>
<code class="literal">format=flowed</code>-style messages (or
<code class="literal">f=f</code> for short) are <code class="literal">text/plain</code>
messages that consist of paragraphs which a receiver's mail client may
reformat to its own needs which mostly means to customize line lengths
regardless of what the sender sent. Technically this is achieved by
letting lines of a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">flowable</span>”</span> paragraph end in spaces
except for the last line.
</p><p>
While for text-mode clients like Mutt it's the best way to assume only a
standard 80x25 character cell terminal, it may be desired to let the
receiver decide completely how to view a message.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="ff-support"></a>6.4.2. Mutt Support</h4></div></div></div><p>
Mutt only supports setting the required <code class="literal">format=flowed</code>
MIME parameter on outgoing messages if the <a class="link" href="#text-flowed" title="3.388. text_flowed">$text_flowed</a> variable is set, specifically
it does not add the trailing spaces.
</p><p>
After editing, Mutt properly space-stuffs the message.
<span class="emphasis"><em>Space-stuffing</em></span> is required by RfC3676 defining
<code class="literal">format=flowed</code> and means to prepend a space to:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>all lines starting with a space</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>lines starting with the word
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">From</code></span>”</span> followed by
space</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>all lines starting with
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">&gt;</code></span>”</span> which is not intended to be a
quote character</p></li></ul></div><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Mutt only supports space-stuffing for the first two types of lines but
not for the third: It is impossible to safely detect whether a leading
<code class="literal">&gt;</code> character starts a quote or not.
</p></div><p>
All leading spaces are to be removed by receiving clients to restore the
original message prior to further processing.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="ff-editor"></a>6.4.3. Editor Considerations</h4></div></div></div><p>
As Mutt provides no additional features to compose
<code class="literal">f=f</code> messages, it's completely up to the user and his
editor to produce proper messages. Please consider your editor's
documentation if you intend to send <code class="literal">f=f</code> messages.
</p><p>
For example, <span class="emphasis"><em>vim</em></span> provides the <code class="literal">w</code>
flag for its <code class="literal">formatoptions</code> setting to assist in
creating <code class="literal">f=f</code> messages, see <code class="literal">:help
fo-table</code> for details.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="ff-pager"></a>6.4.4. Reformatting</h4></div></div></div><p>
  Mutt has some support for reformatting when viewing and replying to
  <code class="literal">format=flowed</code> messages.  In order to take advantage of these,
  <a class="link" href="#reflow-text" title="3.279. reflow_text">$reflow_text</a> must be set.
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
    Paragraphs are automatically reflowed and wrapped at a width specified
    by <a class="link" href="#reflow-wrap" title="3.280. reflow_wrap">$reflow_wrap</a>.
  </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
    In its original format, the quoting style of <code class="literal">format=flowed</code>
    messages can be difficult to read, and doesn't intermix well with
    non-flowed replies.
    Setting <a class="link" href="#reflow-space-quotes" title="3.278. reflow_space_quotes">$reflow_space_quotes</a>
    adds spaces after each level of quoting when in the pager and
    replying in a non-flowed format
    (i.e. with <a class="link" href="#text-flowed" title="3.388. text_flowed">$text_flowed</a> unset).
  </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
    If <a class="link" href="#reflow-space-quotes" title="3.278. reflow_space_quotes">$reflow_space_quotes</a>
    is unset, mutt will still add one trailing space after all the
    quotes in the pager (but not when replying).
  </p></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="bgedit"></a>6.5. Background Editing</h3></div></div></div><p>
  If <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a> is set to a graphical
  editor, or a script such as <a class="ulink" href="https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/tree/master/contrib/bgedit-screen-tmux.sh" target="_top">contrib/bgedit-screen-tmux.sh</a> if running inside GNU Screen or
  tmux, you can run the editor in the background by setting <a class="link" href="#background-edit" title="3.29. background_edit">$background_edit</a>.
</p><p>
  If set, Mutt will display a landing page while the editor runs.
  When the editor exits, message composition will resume
  automatically.  Alternatively, you can
  <code class="literal">&lt;exit&gt;</code> from the landing page, which will
  return you to the message index.  This allows viewing other
  messages, changing mailboxes, even starting a new message
  composition session - all while the first editor session is still
  running.
</p><p>
  Backgrounded message composition sessions can be viewed via
  <code class="literal">&lt;background-compose-menu&gt;</code> in the index and
  pager, by default bound to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">B</code></span>”</span>.  If
  there is only a single backgrounded session, which has already
  exited, that session will automatically resume.  Otherwise the list
  will be displayed, and a particular session can be selected.  <a class="link" href="#background-format" title="3.31. background_format">$background_format</a> controls the
  format string used for the menu.
</p><p>
  In case the open mailbox is changed while a reply is backgrounded,
  Mutt keeps track of the original mailbox.  After sending, Mutt will
  attempt to reopen the original mailbox, if needed, and set reply
  flags appropriately.  This won't affect your currently open mailbox,
  but may make setting flags a bit slower due to the need to reopen
  the original mailbox behind the scenes.
</p><p>
  One complication with backgrounded compose sessions is the config
  changes caused by <a class="link" href="#hooks" title="6. Using Hooks">send, reply, and folder
  hooks</a>.  These can get triggered by a new message composition
  session, or by changing folders during a backgrounded session.  To
  help lessen these problems, Mutt takes a snapshot of certain
  configuration variables and stores them with each editing session
  when it is backgrounded.  When the session is resumed, those stored
  settings will temporarily be restored, and removed again when the
  session finishes (or is backgrounded again).
</p><p>
  Mutt will save all <code class="literal">boolean</code> and
  <code class="literal">quadoption</code> configuration variables,
  the current folder (which will be used for <code class="literal">^</code>
  mailbox shortcut expansion), along with:
  <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a>,
  <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a>,
  <a class="link" href="#postponed" title="3.259. postponed">$postponed</a>,
  <a class="link" href="#envelope-from-address" title="3.88. envelope_from_address">$envelope_from_address</a>,
  <a class="link" href="#from" title="3.109. from">$from</a>,
  <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a>,
  <a class="link" href="#smtp-url" title="3.356. smtp_url">$smtp_url</a>,
  <a class="link" href="#pgp-sign-as" title="3.235. pgp_sign_as">$pgp_sign_as</a>,
  <a class="link" href="#smime-sign-as" title="3.346. smime_sign_as">$smime_sign_as</a>, and
  <a class="link" href="#smime-encrypt-with" title="3.337. smime_encrypt_with">$smime_encrypt_with</a>.
  It's not feasible to backup all variables, but if you believe
  we've missed an important setting, please let the developers know.
</p><p>
  To help prevent forgetting about backgrounded sessions, <a class="link" href="#background-confirm-quit" title="3.30. background_confirm_quit">$background_confirm_quit</a>
  will prompt before exiting, in addition to <a class="link" href="#quit" title="3.271. quit">$quit</a>.  Additionally, the <code class="literal">%B</code>
  expando in <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a>
  displays the number of backgrounded compose sessions.
</p><p>
  Background editing is available for most, but not all, message
  composition in Mutt.  Sending from the command line disables
  background editing, because there is no index to return to.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="forwarding-mail"></a>7. Forwarding and Bouncing Mail</h2></div></div></div><p>
Bouncing and forwarding let you send an existing message to recipients
that you specify. Bouncing a message sends a verbatim copy of a message
to alternative addresses as if they were the message's original
recipients specified in the Bcc header.  Forwarding a message, on the
other hand, allows you to modify the message before it is resent (for
example, by adding your own comments). Bouncing is done using the
<code class="literal">&lt;bounce&gt;</code> function and forwarding using the
<code class="literal">&lt;forward&gt;</code> function bound to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">b</span>”</span>
and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">f</span>”</span> respectively.
</p><p>
Forwarding can be done by including the original message in the new
message's body (surrounded by indicating lines: see <a class="link" href="#forward-attribution-intro" title="3.102. forward_attribution_intro">$forward_attribution_intro</a>
and <a class="link" href="#forward-attribution-trailer" title="3.103. forward_attribution_trailer">$forward_attribution_trailer</a>)
or including it as a MIME attachment, depending on the value of the
<a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> variable.  Decoding
of attachments, like in the pager, can be controlled by the <a class="link" href="#forward-decode" title="3.104. forward_decode">$forward_decode</a> and <a class="link" href="#mime-forward-decode" title="3.192. mime_forward_decode">$mime_forward_decode</a> variables,
respectively.  The desired forwarding format may depend on the content,
therefore <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is a
quadoption which, for example, can be set to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ask-no</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
Mutt's default (<a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a>=<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no</span>”</span> and
<a class="link" href="#forward-decode" title="3.104. forward_decode">$forward_decode</a>=<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">yes</span>”</span>) is
to use standard inline forwarding.  In that mode all text-decodable
parts are included in the new message body.  Other attachments from
the original email can also be attached to the new message, based on the
quadoption <a class="link" href="#forward-attachments" title="3.101. forward_attachments">$forward_attachments</a>.
</p><p>
The inclusion of headers is controlled by the current setting of the
<a class="link" href="#weed" title="3.412. weed">$weed</a> variable, unless <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is set.  The subject of
the email is controlled by <a class="link" href="#forward-format" title="3.107. forward_format">$forward_format</a>.
</p><p>
Editing the message to forward follows the same procedure as sending or
replying to a message does, but can be disabled via the quadoption
<a class="link" href="#forward-edit" title="3.106. forward_edit">$forward_edit</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="postponing-mail"></a>8. Postponing Mail</h2></div></div></div><p>
At times it is desirable to delay sending a message that you have
already begun to compose.  When the
<code class="literal">&lt;postpone-message&gt;</code> function is used in the
<span class="emphasis"><em>compose</em></span> menu, the body of your message and
attachments are stored in the mailbox specified by the <a class="link" href="#postponed" title="3.259. postponed">$postponed</a> variable.  This means that you can
recall the message even if you exit Mutt and then restart it at a later
time.
</p><p>
Once a message is postponed, there are several ways to resume it.  From
the command line you can use the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-p</span>”</span> option, or if you
compose a new message from the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> or
<span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> you will be prompted if postponed messages
exist.  If multiple messages are currently postponed, the
<span class="emphasis"><em>postponed</em></span> menu will pop up and you can select which
message you would like to resume.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If you postpone a reply to a message, the reply setting of the message
is only updated when you actually finish the message and send it.  Also,
you must be in the same folder with the message you replied to for the
status of the message to be updated.
</p></div><p>
See also the <a class="link" href="#postpone" title="3.258. postpone">$postpone</a> quad-option.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="encryption"></a>9. Encryption and Signing</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports encrypting and signing emails when used interactively.
In batch mode, cryptographic operations are disabled, so these options
can't be used to sign an email sent via a cron job, for instance.
</p><p>
OpenPGP and S/MIME are enabled in one of two ways: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">classic
mode</span>”</span> or GPGME.  The former invokes external programs to
perform the various operations; it is better tested and more
flexible, but requires some configuration.  The latter uses the
GnuPG project's GPGME library.
</p><p>
To enable <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">classic mode</span>”</span>, ensure GPGME is disabled and
use the <code class="literal">gpg.rc</code> or <code class="literal">smime.rc</code> files
that come with mutt.  These are typically installed under
<code class="literal">/usr/local/share/doc/mutt/samples/</code>.  Source them, either
directly or by copying them to your .mutt directory and sourcing them.
Sourcing them directly from
<code class="literal">/usr/local/share/doc/mutt/samples/</code> has the benefit of
automatically using fixes and security improvements to the command
invocations, and is recommended.
</p><pre class="screen">
unset crypt_use_gpgme
source /usr/local/share/doc/mutt/samples/gpg.rc
source /usr/local/share/doc/mutt/samples/smime.rc
</pre><p>
To use GPGME instead, simply ensure the option is enabled in your .muttrc:
</p><pre class="screen">
set crypt_use_gpgme
</pre><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="enc-pgp"></a>9.1. OpenPGP Configuration</h3></div></div></div><p>
The two most important settings are <a class="link" href="#pgp-default-key" title="3.218. pgp_default_key">$pgp_default_key</a> and <a class="link" href="#pgp-sign-as" title="3.235. pgp_sign_as">$pgp_sign_as</a>.  To perform encryption, you
must set the first variable.  If you have a separate signing key, or
only have a signing key, then set the second.  Most people will only
need to set <a class="link" href="#pgp-default-key" title="3.218. pgp_default_key">$pgp_default_key</a>.
</p><p>
Starting with version 2.1.0, GnuPG automatically uses an
<code class="literal">agent</code> to prompt for your passphrase.  If you are
using a version older than that, you'll need to ensure an agent is
running (alternatively, you can unset <a class="link" href="#pgp-use-gpg-agent" title="3.240. pgp_use_gpg_agent">$pgp_use_gpg_agent</a> and Mutt will
prompt you for your passphrase).  The agent in turn uses a
<code class="literal">pinentry</code> program to display the prompt.  There are
many different kinds of pinentry programs that can be used: qt, gtk2,
gnome3, fltk, and curses.  However, Mutt does <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span>
work properly with the tty pinentry program.  Please ensure you have
one of the GUI or curses pinentry programs installed and configured to
be the default for your system.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="enc-smime"></a>9.2. S/MIME Configuration</h3></div></div></div><p>
As with OpenPGP, the two most important settings are <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a> and <a class="link" href="#smime-sign-as" title="3.346. smime_sign_as">$smime_sign_as</a>.  To perform encryption
and decryption, you must set the first variable.  If you have a
separate signing key, or only have a signing key, then set the second.
Most people will only need to set <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a>.
</p><p>
In <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">classic mode</span>”</span>, keys and certificates are managed by
the <code class="literal">smime_keys</code> program that comes with Mutt.  By
default they are stored under <code class="literal">~/.smime/</code>. (This is
set by the <code class="literal">smime.rc</code> file with <a class="link" href="#smime-certificates" title="3.332. smime_certificates">$smime_certificates</a> and <a class="link" href="#smime-keys" title="3.343. smime_keys">$smime_keys</a>.)  To initialize this
directory, use the command <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">smime_keys
init</code></span>”</span> from a shell prompt.  The program can be then
be used to import and list certificates.  You may also want to
periodically run <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">smime_keys refresh</code></span>”</span>
to update status flags for your certificates.
</p></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="configuration"></a>Chapter 3. Configuration</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#configuration-files">1. Location of Initialization Files</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#quickconfig">2. Starter Muttrc</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#muttrc-syntax">3. Syntax of Initialization Files</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#addrgroup">4. Address Groups</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#alias">5. Defining/Using Aliases</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#bind">6. Changing the Default Key Bindings</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#stty">6.1. Terminal Keybindings</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#crlf">6.2. Enter versus Return</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#cd">7. Changing the current working directory</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#charset-hook">8. Defining Aliases for Character Sets</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#folder-hook">9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#macro">10. Keyboard Macros</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#color">11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#msg-hdr-display">12. Message Header Display</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#hdr-folding">12.1. Header Display</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#ignore">12.2. Selecting Headers</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#hdr-order">12.3. Ordering Displayed Headers</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#alternates">13. Alternative Addresses</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#lists">14. Mailing Lists</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mbox-hook">15. Using Multiple Spool Mailboxes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mailboxes">16. Monitoring Incoming Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#my-hdr">17. User-Defined Headers</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#save-hook">18. Specify Default Save Mailbox</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#fcc-hook">19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#fcc-save-hook">20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#send-hook">21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#message-hook">22. Change Settings Before Formatting a Message</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#crypt-hook">23. Choosing the Cryptographic Key of the Recipient</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#index-format-hook">24. Dynamically Changing $index_format using Patterns</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#push">25. Adding Key Sequences to the Keyboard Buffer</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#exec">26. Executing Functions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#score-command">27. Message Scoring</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#spam">28. Spam Detection</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#set">29. Setting and Querying Variables</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#var-types">29.1. Variable Types</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#set-commands">29.2. Commands</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#set-myvar">29.3. User-Defined Variables</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#set-conversions">29.4. Type Conversions</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#source">30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#unhook">31. Removing Hooks</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#formatstrings">32. Format Strings</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-basics">32.1. Basic usage</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-conditionals">32.2. Conditionals</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-filters">32.3. Filters</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-padding">32.4. Padding</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#formatstrings-size">32.5. Bytes size display</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mailto-allow">33. Control allowed header fields in a mailto: URL</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="configuration-files"></a>1. Location of Initialization Files</h2></div></div></div><p>
While the default configuration (or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">preferences</span>”</span>) make
Mutt usable right out of the box, it is often desirable to tailor Mutt
to suit your own tastes. When Mutt is first invoked, it will attempt to
read the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">system</span>”</span> configuration file (defaults set by your
local system administrator), unless the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-n</span>”</span> <a class="link" href="#commandline" title="1. Command-Line Options">command line</a> option is specified.  This
file is typically <code class="literal">/usr/local/share/mutt/Muttrc</code> or
<code class="literal">/etc/Muttrc</code>. Mutt will next look for a file named
<code class="literal">.muttrc</code> in your home directory.  If this file does
not exist and your home directory has a subdirectory named
<code class="literal">.mutt</code>, Mutt tries to load a file named
<code class="literal">.mutt/muttrc</code>.  If still not found, Mutt will try
<code class="literal">$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mutt/muttrc</code>.
</p><p>
<code class="literal">.muttrc</code> is the file where you will usually place your
<a class="link" href="#commands" title="2. Configuration Commands">commands</a> to configure Mutt.
</p><p>
In addition, Mutt supports version specific configuration files that are
parsed instead of the default files as explained above.  For instance,
if your system has a <code class="literal">Muttrc-0.88</code> file in the system
configuration directory, and you are running version 0.88 of Mutt, this
file will be sourced instead of the <code class="literal">Muttrc</code> file.  The
same is true of the user configuration file, if you have a file
<code class="literal">.muttrc-0.88.6</code> in your home directory, when you run
Mutt version 0.88.6, it will source this file instead of the default
<code class="literal">.muttrc</code> file.  The version number is the same which
is visible using the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-v</span>”</span> <a class="link" href="#commandline" title="1. Command-Line Options">command line</a> switch or using the
<code class="literal">show-version</code> key (default: V) from the index menu.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="quickconfig"></a>2. Starter Muttrc</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt is highly configurable because it's <span class="emphasis"><em>meant</em></span> to
be customized to your needs and preferences.  However, this
configurability can make it difficult when just getting started.  A
few sample muttrc files come with mutt, under
<code class="literal">doc/mutt/samples/</code>.  Among them, <a class="ulink" href="https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/tree/master/contrib/sample.muttrc-starter" target="_top">sample.muttrc-starter</a> is a basic example config with a few
suggested settings and pointers to useful programs.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="muttrc-syntax"></a>3. Syntax of Initialization Files</h2></div></div></div><p>
An initialization file consists of a series of <a class="link" href="#commands" title="2. Configuration Commands">commands</a>.  Each line of the file may contain
one or more commands.  When multiple commands are used, they must be
separated by a semicolon (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">;</span>”</span>).
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-rc-multiple-cmds"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.1. Multiple configuration commands per line</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set realname='Mutt user' ; ignore x-
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
The hash mark, or pound sign (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">#</span>”</span>), is used as a
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">comment</span>”</span> character. You can use it to annotate your
initialization file. All text after the comment character to the end of
the line is ignored.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-ec-comment"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.2. Commenting configuration files</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
my_hdr X-Disclaimer: Why are you listening to me? <span class="comment"># This is a comment</span>
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
Single quotes (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">'</span>”</span>) and double quotes (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">"</span>”</span>)
can be used to quote strings which contain spaces or other special
characters.  The difference between the two types of quotes is similar
to that of many popular shell programs, namely that a single quote is
used to specify a literal string (one that is not interpreted for shell
variables or quoting with a backslash [see next paragraph]), while
double quotes indicate a string for which should be evaluated.  For
example, backticks are evaluated inside of double quotes, but
<span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> for single quotes.
</p><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span> quotes the next character, just as in shells such as
bash and zsh.  For example, if want to put quotes <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">"</span>”</span>
inside of a string, you can use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span> to force the next
character to be a literal instead of interpreted character.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-rc-quote"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.3. Escaping quotes in configuration files</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set realname="Michael \"MuttDude\" Elkins"
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\\</span>”</span> means to insert a literal <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span> into the line.
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\n</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\r</span>”</span> have their usual C meanings of linefeed and
carriage-return, respectively.
</p><p>
A <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span> at the end of a line can be used to split commands
over multiple lines as it <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">escapes</span>”</span> the line end, provided
that the split points don't appear in the middle of command names. Lines
are first concatenated before interpretation so that a multi-line can be
commented by commenting out the first line only.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-rc-split"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.4. Splitting long configuration commands over several lines</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set status_format="some very \
long value split \
over several lines"
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
It is also possible to substitute the output of a Unix command in an
initialization file.  This is accomplished by enclosing the command in
backticks (``). In <a class="xref" href="#ex-rc-backtick" title="Example 3.5. Using external command's output in configuration files">Example 3.5, “Using external command's output in configuration files”</a>, the output of the
Unix command <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">uname -a</span>”</span> will be substituted before the line
is parsed.  Since initialization files are line oriented, only the first
line of output from the Unix command will be substituted.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-rc-backtick"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.5. Using external command's output in configuration files</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
my_hdr X-Operating-System: `uname -a`
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
To avoid the output of backticks being parsed, place them inside
double quotes.  In <a class="xref" href="#ex-backtick-dblquotes" title="Example 3.6. Preventing the output of backticks from being parsed">Example 3.6, “Preventing the output of backticks from being parsed”</a>, the output
of the gpg decryption is assigned directly to $imap_pass, so that
special characters in the password (e.g.<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">'</span>”</span>,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">#</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">$</span>”</span>) are not parsed and interpreted
specially by mutt.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-backtick-dblquotes"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.6. Preventing the output of backticks from being parsed</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set imap_pass="`gpg --batch -q --decrypt ~/.mutt/account.gpg`"
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
Both environment variables and Mutt variables can be accessed by
prepending <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">$</span>”</span> to the name of the variable. For example,
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-rc-env"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.7. Using environment variables in configuration files</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set record=+sent_on_$HOSTNAME
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
will cause Mutt to save outgoing messages to a folder named
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sent_on_kremvax</span>”</span> if the environment variable
<code class="literal">$HOSTNAME</code> is set to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">kremvax.</span>”</span> (See
<a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> for details.)
</p><p>
Mutt expands the variable when it is assigned, not when it is used. If
the value of a variable on the right-hand side of an assignment changes
after the assignment, the variable on the left-hand side will not be
affected.
</p><p>
If <a class="link" href="#muttlisp-inline-eval" title="3.199. muttlisp_inline_eval">$muttlisp_inline_eval</a> is set, an unquoted
parenthesis-enclosed expression will be evaluated as MuttLisp.  See the
<a class="link" href="#muttlisp" title="20. Using MuttLisp (EXPERIMENTAL)">Using MuttLisp</a> section for more details.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-rc-muttlisp"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.8. Using MuttLisp expressions</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set signature = \
  (if (equal $my_name "Kevin McCarthy") ~/kevin.sig ~/other.sig)
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
The commands understood by Mutt are explained in the next paragraphs.
For a complete list, see the <a class="link" href="#commands" title="2. Configuration Commands">command
reference</a>.
</p><p>
All configuration files are expected to be in the current locale as
specified by the <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">$charset</a> variable which
doesn't have a default value since it's determined by Mutt at startup.
If a configuration file is not encoded in the same character set the
<a class="link" href="#config-charset" title="3.47. config_charset">$config_charset</a> variable should be
used: all lines starting with the next are recoded from <a class="link" href="#config-charset" title="3.47. config_charset">$config_charset</a> to <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">$charset</a>.
</p><p>
This mechanism should be avoided if possible as it has the following
implications:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>These variables should be set early in a configuration
file with <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">$charset</a> preceding <a class="link" href="#config-charset" title="3.47. config_charset">$config_charset</a> so Mutt knows what
character set to convert to.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>If <a class="link" href="#config-charset" title="3.47. config_charset">$config_charset</a>
is set, it should be set in each configuration file because the value is
global and <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> per configuration
file.</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Because Mutt first recodes a line before it attempts to
parse it, a conversion introducing question marks or other characters as
part of errors (unconvertable characters, transliteration) may introduce
syntax errors or silently change the meaning of certain tokens
(e.g. inserting question marks into regular
expressions).</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="addrgroup"></a>4. Address Groups</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">group</code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<code class="option">-rx</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em>
...  |   
<code class="option">-addr</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em>
... }<br /><code class="command">ungroup</code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<code class="option">-rx</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em>
...  |   
<code class="option">-addr</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
Mutt supports grouping addresses logically into named groups. An address
or address pattern can appear in several groups at the same time. These
groups can be used in <a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">patterns</a> (for searching, limiting and tagging) and
in hooks by using group patterns. This can be useful to classify mail
and take certain actions depending on in what groups the message is.
For example, the mutt user's mailing list would fit into the categories
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mailing list</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mutt-related</span>”</span>. Using <a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients"><code class="literal">send-hook</code></a>, the sender can
be set to a dedicated one for writing mailing list messages, and the
signature could be set to a mutt-related one for writing to a mutt list
— for other lists, the list sender setting still applies but a
different signature can be selected. Or, given a group only containing
recipients known to accept encrypted mail,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">auto-encryption</span>”</span> can be achieved easily.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>group</strong></span> command is used to directly add either
addresses or regular expressions to the specified group or groups. The
different categories of arguments to the <span class="command"><strong>group</strong></span>
command can be in any order. The flags <code class="literal">-rx</code> and
<code class="literal">-addr</code> specify what the following strings (that cannot
begin with a hyphen) should be interpreted as: either a regular
expression or an email address, respectively.
</p><p>
These address groups can also be created implicitly by the <a class="link" href="#alias" title="5. Defining/Using Aliases"><span class="command"><strong>alias</strong></span></a>, <a class="link" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists"><span class="command"><strong>lists</strong></span></a>, <a class="link" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists"><span class="command"><strong>subscribe</strong></span></a> and <a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses"><span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span></a> commands by
specifying the optional <code class="literal">-group</code> option. For example,
</p><pre class="screen">
alternates -group me address1 address2
alternates -group me -group work address3
</pre><p>
would create a group named <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">me</span>”</span> which contains all your
addresses and a group named <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">work</span>”</span> which contains only your
work address <span class="emphasis"><em>address3</em></span>. Besides many other
possibilities, this could be used to automatically mark your own
messages in a mailing list folder as read or use a special signature for
work-related messages.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>ungroup</strong></span> command is used to remove addresses or
regular expressions from the specified group or groups. The syntax is
similar to the <span class="command"><strong>group</strong></span> command, however the special
character <code class="literal">*</code> can be used to empty a group of all of
its contents. As soon as a group gets empty because all addresses and
regular expressions have been removed, it'll internally be removed, too
(i.e. there cannot be an empty group). When removing regular expressions
from a group, the pattern must be specified exactly as given to the
<span class="command"><strong>group</strong></span> command or <code class="literal">-group</code> argument.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="alias"></a>5. Defining/Using Aliases</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">alias</code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>address</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>address</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unalias</code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
It's usually very cumbersome to remember or type out the address of
someone you are communicating with.  Mutt allows you to create
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">aliases</span>”</span> which map a short string to a full address.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If you want to create an alias for more than one address, you
<span class="emphasis"><em>must</em></span> separate the addresses with a comma
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">,</span>”</span>).
</p></div><p>
The optional <code class="literal">-group</code> argument to
<span class="command"><strong>alias</strong></span> causes the aliased address(es) to be added to
the named <span class="emphasis"><em>group</em></span>.
</p><p>
To add an alias:
</p><pre class="screen">
alias muttdude me@cs.hmc.edu (Michael Elkins)
alias theguys manny, moe, jack
</pre><p>
To remove an alias or aliases (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> means all aliases):
</p><pre class="screen">
unalias muttdude
unalias *
</pre><p>
Note: The alias <span class="emphasis"><em>key</em></span> is matched case
insensitively when creating (checking for duplicates), removing, or
expanding aliases.
</p><p>
Unlike other mailers, Mutt doesn't require aliases to be defined in a
special file.  The <span class="command"><strong>alias</strong></span> command can appear anywhere
in a configuration file, as long as this file is <a class="link" href="#source" title="30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File"><span class="command"><strong>source</strong></span>d</a>.  Consequently, you
can have multiple alias files, or you can have all aliases defined in
your <code class="literal">.muttrc</code>.
</p><p>
On the other hand, the <a class="link" href="#create-alias"><code class="literal">&lt;create-alias&gt;</code></a>
function can use only one file, the one pointed to by the <a class="link" href="#alias-file" title="3.5. alias_file">$alias_file</a> variable (which is
<code class="literal">~/.muttrc</code> by default). This file is not special
either, in the sense that Mutt will happily append aliases to any file,
but in order for the new aliases to take effect you need to explicitly
<a class="link" href="#source" title="30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File"><span class="command"><strong>source</strong></span></a> this file too.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-alias-external"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.9. Configuring external alias files</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
source /usr/local/share/Mutt.aliases
source ~/.mail_aliases
set alias_file=~/.mail_aliases
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
To use aliases, you merely use the alias at any place in Mutt where Mutt
prompts for addresses, such as the <span class="emphasis"><em>To:</em></span> or
<span class="emphasis"><em>Cc:</em></span> prompt.  You can also enter aliases in your
editor at the appropriate headers if you have the <a class="link" href="#edit-headers" title="3.84. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a> variable set.
</p><p>
In addition, at the various address prompts, you can use the tab
character to expand a partial alias to the full alias.  If there are
multiple matches, Mutt will bring up a menu with the matching aliases.
In order to be presented with the full list of aliases, you must hit tab
without a partial alias, such as at the beginning of the prompt or after
a comma denoting multiple addresses.
</p><p>
In the alias menu, you can select as many aliases as you want with the
<code class="literal">tag-entry</code> key (default: &lt;Space&gt; or t), and use
the <span class="emphasis"><em>exit</em></span> key (default: q) to return to the address
prompt.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="bind"></a>6. Changing the Default Key Bindings</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">bind</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>map</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>function</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command allows you to change the default key bindings (operation
invoked when pressing a key).
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>map</em></span> specifies in which menu the binding belongs.
Multiple maps may be specified by separating them with commas (no
additional whitespace is allowed). The currently defined maps are:
</p><a id="maps"></a><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">generic</span></dt><dd><p>
This is not a real menu, but is used as a fallback for all of the other
menus except for the pager and editor modes.  If a key is not defined in
another menu, Mutt will look for a binding to use in this menu.  This
allows you to bind a key to a certain function in multiple menus instead
of having multiple <span class="command"><strong>bind</strong></span> statements to accomplish the
same task.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">alias</span></dt><dd><p>
The alias menu is the list of your personal aliases as defined in your
<code class="literal">.muttrc</code>.  It is the mapping from a short alias name
to the full email address(es) of the recipient(s).
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">attach</span></dt><dd><p>
The attachment menu is used to access the attachments on received
messages.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">browser</span></dt><dd><p>
The browser is used for both browsing the local directory structure, and
for listing all of your incoming mailboxes.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">editor</span></dt><dd><p>
The editor is used to allow the user to enter a single line of text, such as
the <span class="emphasis"><em>To</em></span> or <span class="emphasis"><em>Subject</em></span> prompts in the
<code class="literal">compose</code> menu.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">index</span></dt><dd><p>
The index is the list of messages contained in a mailbox.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">compose</span></dt><dd><p>
The compose menu is the screen used when sending a new message.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">pager</span></dt><dd><p>
The pager is the mode used to display message/attachment data, and help
listings.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">pgp</span></dt><dd><p>
The pgp menu is used to select the OpenPGP keys used to encrypt outgoing
messages.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">smime</span></dt><dd><p>
The smime menu is used to select the OpenSSL certificates used to
encrypt outgoing messages.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">postpone</span></dt><dd><p>
The postpone menu is similar to the index menu, except is used when
recalling a message the user was composing, but saved until later.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">query</span></dt><dd><p>
The query menu is the browser for results returned by <a class="link" href="#query-command" title="3.269. query_command">$query_command</a>.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">mix</span></dt><dd><p>
The mixmaster screen is used to select remailer options for outgoing
messages (if Mutt is compiled with Mixmaster support).
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>key</em></span> is the key (or key sequence) you wish to bind.
To specify a control character, use the sequence
<span class="emphasis"><em>\Cx</em></span>, where <span class="emphasis"><em>x</em></span> is the letter of
the control character (for example, to specify control-A use
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\Ca</span>”</span>).  Note that the case of <span class="emphasis"><em>x</em></span> as
well as <span class="emphasis"><em>\C</em></span> is ignored, so that
<span class="emphasis"><em>\CA</em></span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>\Ca</em></span>,
<span class="emphasis"><em>\cA</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>\ca</em></span> are all
equivalent.  An alternative form is to specify the key as a three digit
octal number prefixed with a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span> (for example
<span class="emphasis"><em>\177</em></span> is equivalent to <span class="emphasis"><em>\c?</em></span>).
You can also use the form <span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;177&gt;</em></span>, which
allows octal numbers with an arbitrary number of digits.  In addition,
<span class="emphasis"><em>key</em></span> may be a symbolic name as shown in <a class="xref" href="#tab-key-names" title="Table 3.1. Symbolic key names">Table 3.1, “Symbolic key names”</a>.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-key-names"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 3.1. Symbolic key names</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Symbolic key names" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Symbolic name</th><th>Meaning</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>\t</td><td>tab</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;tab&gt;</td><td>tab</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;backtab&gt;</td><td>backtab / shift-tab</td></tr><tr><td>\r</td><td>carriage return</td></tr><tr><td>\n</td><td>newline</td></tr><tr><td>\e</td><td>escape</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;esc&gt;</td><td>escape</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;up&gt;</td><td>up arrow</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;down&gt;</td><td>down arrow</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;left&gt;</td><td>left arrow</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;right&gt;</td><td>right arrow</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;pageup&gt;</td><td>Page Up</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;pagedown&gt;</td><td>Page Down</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;backspace&gt;</td><td>Backspace</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;delete&gt;</td><td>Delete</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;insert&gt;</td><td>Insert</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;enter&gt;</td><td>Enter</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;return&gt;</td><td>Return</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;keypadenter&gt;</td><td>Enter key on numeric keypad</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;home&gt;</td><td>Home</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;end&gt;</td><td>End</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;space&gt;</td><td>Space bar</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;f1&gt;</td><td>function key 1</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;f10&gt;</td><td>function key 10</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
The <code class="literal">&lt;what-key&gt;</code> function can be used to
explore keycode and symbolic names for other keys on your keyboard.
Executing this function will display information about each key
pressed, until terminated by <code class="literal">^G</code>.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>key</em></span> does not need to be enclosed in quotes unless
it contains a space (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"> </span>”</span>) or semi-colon
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">;</span>”</span>).
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>function</em></span> specifies which action to take when
<span class="emphasis"><em>key</em></span> is pressed.  For a complete list of functions,
see the <a class="link" href="#functions" title="4. Functions">reference</a>. Note that the
<span class="command"><strong>bind</strong></span> expects <span class="emphasis"><em>function</em></span> to be
specified without angle brackets.
</p><p>
The special function <code class="literal">&lt;noop&gt;</code> unbinds the
specified key sequence.
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="stty"></a>6.1. Terminal Keybindings</h3></div></div></div><p>
    Some key bindings are controlled by the terminal, and so by
    default can't be bound inside Mutt.  These may include
    <code class="literal">^C</code>, <code class="literal">^\</code>, <code class="literal">^Q</code>,
    <code class="literal">^S</code>, <code class="literal">^Z</code>, and on BSD/Mac
    <code class="literal">^Y</code>.  These terminal settings can be viewed and
    changed using the <code class="literal">stty</code> program.
  </p><p>
    <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">stty -a</code></span>”</span> will list the bound
    characters (not all of them affect Mutt), and what actions they
    take when pressed.  For example,
    you may see <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">intr = ^C</code></span>”</span> in its
    output.  This means typing <code class="literal">^C</code> will send an
    interrupt signal.  <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">quit = ^\</code></span>”</span>
    means typing <code class="literal">^\</code> (commonly also
    <code class="literal">^4</code>) will send a quit signal.
  </p><p>
    To unbind a key from an action, you invoke <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">stty action
    undef</span>”</span>.  For example, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">stty quit
    undef</code></span>”</span> will unbind <code class="literal">^\</code> (and
    <code class="literal">^4</code>) from sending the quit signal.  Once unbound
    (e.g, by placing that line in your .bashrc, or in a Mutt wrapper
    script/function) you can use the key sequence in your Mutt
    bindings.
  </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crlf"></a>6.2. Enter versus Return</h3></div></div></div><p>
    Prior to version 2.2, Mutt used a default ncurses mode
    (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">nl()</code></span>”</span>).  This mode maps keyboard
    input of either <code class="literal">&lt;Enter&gt;</code> or
    <code class="literal">&lt;Return&gt;</code> to the same value, which Mutt
    interpreted as <code class="literal">&lt;Return&gt;</code> internally.
  </p><p>
    However, starting in version 2.2, this mode is turned off,
    allowing <code class="literal">&lt;Return&gt;</code> and
    <code class="literal">&lt;Enter&gt;</code> to be mapped separately, if
    desired.  The default keyboard mappings set both, but you can
    override this or create new bindings with one or the other (or
    both).
  </p><p>
    Note that in terminal application, such as Mutt,
    <code class="literal">&lt;Enter&gt;</code> is the same as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\n</span>”</span>
    and <code class="literal">^J</code>; while <code class="literal">&lt;Return&gt;</code>
    is the same as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\r</span>”</span> and <code class="literal">^M</code>.
  </p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="cd"></a>7. Changing the current working directory</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">cd</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
The <code class="literal">cd</code> command changes Mutt's current working directory.
This affects commands and functions like <code class="literal">source</code>,
<code class="literal">change-folder</code>, and <code class="literal">save-entry</code> that use
relative paths. Using <code class="literal">cd</code> without directory changes to your
home directory.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="charset-hook"></a>8. Defining Aliases for Character Sets</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">charset-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>alias</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>charset</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">iconv-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>charset</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>local-charset</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>charset-hook</strong></span> command defines an alias for a
character set.  This is useful to properly display messages which are
tagged with a character set name not known to Mutt.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>iconv-hook</strong></span> command defines a system-specific name
for a character set.  This is helpful when your systems character
conversion library insists on using strange, system-specific names for
character sets.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="folder-hook"></a>9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">folder-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]regexp</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
It is often desirable to change settings based on which mailbox you are
reading.  The <span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span> command provides a method
by which you can execute any configuration command.
<span class="emphasis"><em>regexp</em></span> is a regular expression specifying in which
mailboxes to execute <span class="emphasis"><em>command</em></span> before loading.  If a
mailbox matches multiple <span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span>s, they are
executed in the order given in the <code class="literal">.muttrc</code>.
</p><p>
The regexp parameter has <a class="link" href="#shortcuts" title="10. Mailbox Shortcuts">mailbox
shortcut</a> expansion performed on the first character.
See  <a class="xref" href="#mailbox-hook" title="6.2. Mailbox Matching in Hooks">Mailbox Matching in Hooks</a> for more details.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If you use the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">!</span>”</span> shortcut for <a class="link" href="#spoolfile" title="3.365. spoolfile">$spoolfile</a> at the beginning of the pattern,
you must place it inside of double or single quotes in order to
distinguish it from the logical <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> operator for
the expression.
</p></div><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Settings are <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> restored when you leave the
mailbox.  For example, a command action to perform is to change the
sorting method based upon the mailbox being read:
</p><pre class="screen">
folder-hook mutt "set sort=threads"</pre><p>
However, the sorting method is not restored to its previous value when
reading a different mailbox.  To specify a <span class="emphasis"><em>default</em></span>
command, use the pattern <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">.</span>”</span> before other
<span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span>s adjusting a value on a per-folder basis
because <span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span>s are evaluated in the order given
in the configuration file.
</p></div><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
The keyboard buffer will not be processed until after all hooks
are run; multiple <a class="link" href="#push" title="25. Adding Key Sequences to the Keyboard Buffer">push</a> or <a class="link" href="#exec" title="26. Executing Functions">exec</a> commands will end up being processed in
reverse order.
</p></div><p>
The following example will set the <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">sort</a>
variable to <code class="literal">date-sent</code> for all folders but to
<code class="literal">threads</code> for all folders containing
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mutt</span>”</span> in their name.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-folder-sorting"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.10. Setting sort method based on mailbox name</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
folder-hook . "set sort=date-sent"
folder-hook mutt "set sort=threads"
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="macro"></a>10. Keyboard Macros</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">macro</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>menu</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>sequence</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>description</code></em>
]</p></div><p>
Macros are useful when you would like a single key to perform a series
of actions.  When you press <span class="emphasis"><em>key</em></span> in menu
<span class="emphasis"><em>menu</em></span>, Mutt will behave as if you had typed
<span class="emphasis"><em>sequence</em></span>.  So if you have a common sequence of
commands you type, you can create a macro to execute those commands with
a single key or fewer keys.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>menu</em></span> is the <a class="link" href="#maps">map</a> which
the macro will be bound in.  Multiple maps may be specified by
separating multiple menu arguments by commas. Whitespace may not be used
in between the menu arguments and the commas separating them.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>key</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>sequence</em></span> are expanded
by the same rules as the <a class="link" href="#bind" title="6. Changing the Default Key Bindings">key bindings</a> with
some additions.  The first is that control characters in
<span class="emphasis"><em>sequence</em></span> can also be specified as
<span class="emphasis"><em>^x</em></span>.  In order to get a caret (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^</span>”</span>) you
need to use <span class="emphasis"><em>^^</em></span>.  Secondly, to specify a certain key
such as <span class="emphasis"><em>up</em></span> or to invoke a function directly, you
can use the format <span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;key name&gt;</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;function name&gt;</em></span>.  For a listing of key names
see the section on <a class="link" href="#bind" title="6. Changing the Default Key Bindings">key bindings</a>.  Functions
are listed in the <a class="link" href="#functions" title="4. Functions">reference</a>.
</p><p>
The advantage with using function names directly is that the macros will
work regardless of the current key bindings, so they are not dependent
on the user having particular key definitions.  This makes them more
robust and portable, and also facilitates defining of macros in files
used by more than one user (e.g., the system Muttrc).
</p><p>
Optionally you can specify a descriptive text after
<span class="emphasis"><em>sequence</em></span>, which is shown in the help screens if
they contain a description.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Macro definitions (if any) listed in the help screen(s), are
silently truncated at the screen width, and are not wrapped.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="color"></a>11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">color</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>object</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>foreground</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>background</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">color</code>  { 
<code class="option">header</code>
  |   
<code class="option">body</code>
 } [
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>foreground</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>background</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">color</code>   
<code class="option">index</code>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>foreground</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>background</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">color</code>   
<code class="option">compose</code>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>composeobject</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>foreground</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>background</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">uncolor</code>  { 
<code class="option">index</code>
  |   
<code class="option">header</code>
  |   
<code class="option">body</code>
 } { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
If your terminal supports color, you can spice up Mutt by creating your
own color scheme.  To define the color of an object (type of
information), you must specify both a foreground color
<span class="emphasis"><em>and</em></span> a background color (it is not possible to only
specify one or the other).
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>header</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>body</em></span> match
<span class="emphasis"><em><a class="link" href="#regexp" title="2. Regular Expressions">regexp</a></em></span> in the
header/body of a message, <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> matches
<span class="emphasis"><em><a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">pattern</a></em></span> in the
message index.  Note that IMAP server-side searches (=b, =B, =h) are
not supported for color index patterns.
</p><p>
When <a class="link" href="#header-color-partial" title="3.116. header_color_partial">$header_color_partial</a>
is unset (the default), a <span class="emphasis"><em>header</em></span> matched by
<span class="emphasis"><em>regexp</em></span> will have color applied to the entire header.
When set, color is applied only to the exact text matched by
<span class="emphasis"><em>regexp</em></span>.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>object</em></span> can be one of:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>attachment</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>bold (highlighting bold patterns in the body of messages)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>error (error messages printed by Mutt)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>hdrdefault (default color of the message header in the pager)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>indicator (arrow or bar used to indicate the current item in a menu)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>markers (the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span> markers at the beginning of wrapped lines in the pager)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>message (informational messages)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>normal</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>prompt</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>quoted (text matching <a class="link" href="#quote-regexp" title="3.272. quote_regexp">$quote_regexp</a> in the body of a message)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>quoted1, quoted2, ..., quoted<span class="emphasis"><em>N</em></span> (higher levels of quoting)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>search (highlighting of words in the pager)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>signature</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>status (mode lines used to display info about the mailbox or message)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>tilde (the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~</span>”</span> used to pad blank lines in the pager)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>tree (thread tree drawn in the message index and attachment menu)</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>underline (highlighting underlined patterns in the body of messages)</p></li></ul></div><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>composeobject</em></span> can be one of:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>header</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>security_encrypt</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>security_sign</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>security_both</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>security_none</p></li></ul></div><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>attribute</em></span> can be one of the following:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>none</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>bold</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>underline</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>reverse</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>standout</p></li></ul></div><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>foreground</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>background</em></span> can
be one of the following:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>white</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>black</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>green</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>magenta</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>blue</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>cyan</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>yellow</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>red</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>default</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>color<span class="emphasis"><em>x</em></span></p></li></ul></div><p>
The color name can optionally be prefixed with the keyword
<code class="literal">bright</code> or <code class="literal">light</code> to make the color
boldfaced or light (e.g., <code class="literal">brightred</code>). The precise
behavior depends on the terminal and its configuration. In particular,
the boldfaced/light difference and such background colors may be
available only for terminals configured with at least 16 colors,
as specified by the <code class="literal">$TERM</code> environment variable.
</p><p>
If your terminal supports it, the special keyword
<span class="emphasis"><em>default</em></span> can be used as a transparent color.  The
value <span class="emphasis"><em>brightdefault</em></span> is also valid.  If Mutt is
linked against the <span class="emphasis"><em>S-Lang</em></span> library, you also need to
set the <code class="literal">$COLORFGBG</code> environment variable to the
default colors of your terminal for this to work; for example (for
Bourne-like shells):
</p><pre class="screen">
set COLORFGBG="green;black"
export COLORFGBG
</pre><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
The <span class="emphasis"><em>S-Lang</em></span> library requires you to use the
<span class="emphasis"><em>lightgray</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>brown</em></span> keywords
instead of <span class="emphasis"><em>white</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>yellow</em></span>
when setting this variable.
</p></div><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>uncolor</strong></span> command can be applied to the index,
header and body objects only.  It removes entries from the list. You
<span class="emphasis"><em>must</em></span> specify the same pattern specified in the
<span class="command"><strong>color</strong></span> command for it to be removed.  The pattern
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> is a special token which means to clear the color list
of all entries.
</p></div><p>
Mutt also recognizes the keywords <span class="emphasis"><em>color0</em></span>,
<span class="emphasis"><em>color1</em></span>, ...,
<span class="emphasis"><em>color</em></span><span class="emphasis"><em>N-1</em></span>
(<span class="emphasis"><em>N</em></span> being the number of colors supported by your
terminal).  This is useful when you remap the colors for your display
(for example by changing the color associated with
<span class="emphasis"><em>color2</em></span> for your xterm), since color names may then
lose their normal meaning.
</p><a id="mono"></a><p>
If your terminal does not support color, it is still possible change the
video attributes through the use of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mono</span>”</span>
command. Usage:
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">mono</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>object</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">mono</code>  { 
<code class="option">header</code>
  |   
<code class="option">body</code>
 }  
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">mono</code>   
<code class="option">index</code>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">mono</code>   
<code class="option">compose</code>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>composeobject</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">unmono</code>  { 
<code class="option">index</code>
  |   
<code class="option">header</code>
  |   
<code class="option">body</code>
 } { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
For <span class="emphasis"><em>object</em></span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>composeobject</em></span>, and
<span class="emphasis"><em>attribute</em></span>, see the <span class="command"><strong>color</strong></span> command.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="msg-hdr-display"></a>12. Message Header Display</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hdr-folding"></a>12.1. Header Display</h3></div></div></div><p>
When displaying a message in the pager, Mutt folds long header lines at
<a class="link" href="#wrap" title="3.413. wrap">$wrap</a> columns. Though there're precise rules
about where to break and how, Mutt always folds headers using a tab for
readability. (Note that the sending side is not affected by this, Mutt
tries to implement standards compliant folding.)
</p><p>
Despite not being a real header, Mutt will also display an mbox
"From_" line in the pager along with other headers.  This
line can be manipulated with <span class="command"><strong>ignore/unignore</strong></span> and
<span class="command"><strong>hdr_order/unhdr_order</strong></span> commands.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ignore"></a>12.2. Selecting Headers</h3></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">ignore</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unignore</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
Messages often have many header fields added by automatic processing
systems, or which may not seem useful to display on the screen.  This
command allows you to specify header fields which you don't normally
want to see in the pager.
</p><p>
You do not need to specify the full header field name.  For example,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ignore content-</span>”</span> will ignore all header fields that begin
with the pattern <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">content-</span>”</span>. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ignore *</span>”</span> will
ignore all headers.
</p><p>
To remove a previously added token from the list, use the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unignore</span>”</span> command.  The <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unignore</span>”</span> command
will make Mutt display headers with the given pattern.  For example, if
you do <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ignore x-</span>”</span> it is possible to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unignore
x-mailer</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unignore *</span>”</span> will remove all tokens from the ignore list.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-header-weeding"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.11. Header weeding</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
<span class="comment"># Sven's draconian header weeding</span>
ignore *
unignore from date subject to cc
unignore organization organisation x-mailer: x-newsreader: x-mailing-list:
unignore posted-to:
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
The above example will show "From:" headers as well as mbox
"From_" lines.  To hide the latter, instead use
"<code class="literal">unignore from: date subject to cc</code>" on
the second line.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hdr-order"></a>12.3. Ordering Displayed Headers</h3></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">hdr_order</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>header</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>header</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unhdr_order</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>header</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
With the <span class="command"><strong>hdr_order</strong></span> command you can specify an order
in which Mutt will attempt to present these headers to you when viewing
messages.
</p><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><span class="command"><strong>unhdr_order</strong></span> *</span>”</span> will clear all previous
headers from the order list, thus removing the header order effects set
by the system-wide startup file.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-hdr-order"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.12. Configuring header display order</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
hdr_order From Date: From: To: Cc: Subject:
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="alternates"></a>13. Alternative Addresses</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">alternates</code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unalternates</code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
With various functions, Mutt will treat messages differently, depending
on whether you sent them or whether you received them from someone else.
For instance, when replying to a message that you sent to a different
party, Mutt will automatically suggest to send the response to the
original message's recipients — responding to yourself won't make
much sense in many cases.  (See <a class="link" href="#reply-to" title="3.283. reply_to">$reply_to</a>.)
</p><p>
Many users receive e-mail under a number of different addresses. To
fully use Mutt's features here, the program must be able to recognize
what e-mail addresses you receive mail under. That's the purpose of the
<span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span> command: It takes a list of regular
expressions, each of which can identify an address under which you
receive e-mail.
</p><p>
As addresses are matched using regular expressions and not exact strict
comparisons, you should make sure you specify your addresses as precise
as possible to avoid mismatches. For example, if you specify:
</p><pre class="screen">
alternates user@example
</pre><p>
Mutt will consider <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">some-user@example</code></span>”</span>
as being your address, too which may not be desired. As a solution, in
such cases addresses should be specified as:
</p><pre class="screen">
alternates '^user@example$'
</pre><p>
The <code class="literal">-group</code> flag causes all of the subsequent regular
expressions to be added to the named group.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>unalternates</strong></span> command can be used to write
exceptions to <span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span> patterns. If an address
matches something in an <span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span> command, but you
nonetheless do not think it is from you, you can list a more precise
pattern under an <span class="command"><strong>unalternates</strong></span> command.
</p><p>
To remove a regular expression from the <span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span>
list, use the <span class="command"><strong>unalternates</strong></span> command with exactly the
same <span class="emphasis"><em>regexp</em></span>.  Likewise, if the
<span class="emphasis"><em>regexp</em></span> for an <span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span> command
matches an entry on the <span class="command"><strong>unalternates</strong></span> list, that
<span class="command"><strong>unalternates</strong></span> entry will be removed. If the
<span class="emphasis"><em>regexp</em></span> for <span class="command"><strong>unalternates</strong></span> is
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>all entries</em></span> on
<span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span> will be removed.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="lists"></a>14. Mailing Lists</h2></div></div></div><a id="subscribe"></a><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">lists</code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unlists</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
... }<br /><code class="command">subscribe</code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unsubscribe</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
Mutt has a few nice features for <a class="link" href="#using-lists" title="11. Handling Mailing Lists">handling
mailing lists</a>.  In order to take advantage of them, you must
specify which addresses belong to mailing lists, and which mailing lists
you are subscribed to. Mutt also has limited support for auto-detecting
mailing lists: it supports parsing <code class="literal">mailto:</code> links in
the common <code class="literal">List-Post:</code> header which has the same
effect as specifying the list address via the <span class="command"><strong>lists</strong></span>
command (except the group feature). Once you have done this, the <a class="link" href="#list-reply"><code class="literal">&lt;list-reply&gt;</code></a>
function will work for all known lists.  Additionally, when you send a
message to a known list and <a class="link" href="#followup-to" title="3.99. followup_to">$followup_to</a> is set, Mutt will add a
Mail-Followup-To header.  For unsubscribed lists, this will include
your personal address, ensuring you receive a copy of replies.  For
subscribed mailing lists, the header will not, telling other users'
mail user agents not to send copies of replies to your personal
address.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
The Mail-Followup-To header is a non-standard extension which is not
supported by all mail user agents.  Adding it is not bullet-proof
against receiving personal CCs of list messages.  Also note that the
generation of the Mail-Followup-To header is controlled by the <a class="link" href="#followup-to" title="3.99. followup_to">$followup_to</a> configuration variable since
it's common practice on some mailing lists to send Cc upon replies
(which is more a group- than a list-reply).
</p></div><p>
More precisely, Mutt maintains lists of patterns for the addresses of
known and subscribed mailing lists.  Every subscribed mailing list is
known. To mark a mailing list as known, use the <span class="command"><strong>list</strong></span>
command.  To mark it as subscribed, use <span class="command"><strong>subscribe</strong></span>.
</p><p>
You can use regular expressions with both commands. To mark all messages
sent to a specific bug report's address on Debian's bug tracking system
as list mail, for instance, you could say
</p><pre class="screen">
subscribe [0-9]+.*@bugs.debian.org</pre><p>
as it's often sufficient to just give a portion of the list's e-mail
address.
</p><p>
Specify as much of the address as you need to remove ambiguity.  For
example, if you've subscribed to the Mutt mailing list, you will receive
mail addressed to <code class="literal">mutt-users@mutt.org</code>.  So, to tell
Mutt that this is a mailing list, you could add <code class="literal">lists
mutt-users@</code> to your initialization file.  To tell Mutt that
you are subscribed to it, add <code class="literal"><span class="command"><strong>subscribe</strong></span>
mutt-users</code> to your initialization file instead.  If you also
happen to get mail from someone whose address is
<code class="literal">mutt-users@example.com</code>, you could use
<code class="literal"><span class="command"><strong>lists</strong></span> ^mutt-users@mutt\\.org$</code> or
<code class="literal"><span class="command"><strong>subscribe</strong></span> ^mutt-users@mutt\\.org$</code>
to match only mail from the actual list.
</p><p>
The <code class="literal">-group</code> flag adds all of the subsequent regular
expressions to the named <a class="link" href="#addrgroup" title="4. Address Groups">address group</a>
in addition to adding to the specified address list.
</p><p>
The <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unlists</span>”</span> command is used to remove a token from the
list of known and subscribed mailing-lists. Use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unlists *</span>”</span>
to remove all tokens.
</p><p>
To remove a mailing list from the list of subscribed mailing lists, but
keep it on the list of known mailing lists, use
<span class="command"><strong>unsubscribe</strong></span>.
</p><p>
All of the mailing list configuration options described so far govern
mutt's knowledge of your list subscriptions and how it presents list
information to you. If you have a message from a mailing list, you
can also use the <a class="link" href="#tab-list-bindings" title="Table 9.16. Default List Menu Bindings">list
menu</a> (bound to "ESC L" by default) to interact with
the message's list's list server.  This makes it easy to subscribe,
unsubscribe, and so on.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="mbox-hook"></a>15. Using Multiple Spool Mailboxes</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">mbox-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]regexp</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command is used to move read messages from a specified mailbox to a
different mailbox automatically when you quit or change folders.
<span class="emphasis"><em>regexp</em></span> is a regular expression specifying the
mailbox to treat as a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">spool</span>”</span> mailbox and
<span class="emphasis"><em>mailbox</em></span> specifies where mail should be saved when
read.
</p><p>
The regexp parameter has <a class="link" href="#shortcuts" title="10. Mailbox Shortcuts">mailbox
shortcut</a> expansion performed on the first character.
See  <a class="xref" href="#mailbox-hook" title="6.2. Mailbox Matching in Hooks">Mailbox Matching in Hooks</a> for more details.
</p><p>
Note that execution of mbox-hooks is dependent on the <a class="link" href="#move" title="3.198. move">$move</a> configuration variable.  If set to
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no</span>”</span> (the default), mbox-hooks will not be executed.
</p><p>
Unlike some of the other <span class="emphasis"><em>hook</em></span> commands, only the
<span class="emphasis"><em>first</em></span> matching regexp is used (it is not possible
to save read mail in more than a single mailbox).
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="mailboxes"></a>16. Monitoring Incoming Mail</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">mailboxes</code>  [
  [ 
      <code class="option">-notify</code>
      |   
      <code class="option">-nonotify</code>
     ]
   [ 
      <code class="option">-poll</code>
      |   
      <code class="option">-nopoll</code>
     ]
   [ 
      <code class="option">-label</code>
      <em class="replaceable"><code>label</code></em>
      |   
      <code class="option">-nolabel</code>
     ]
    
    <em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
   
] [...]<br /><code class="command">unmailboxes</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
This command specifies folders which can receive mail and which will be
checked for new messages periodically.
</p><p>
Use <code class="literal">-nonotify</code> to disable notifying when new mail
arrives.  The <code class="literal">-notify</code> argument can be used to reenable
notifying for an existing mailbox.  If unspecified: a new
mailbox will notify by default, while an existing mailbox will be
unchanged.
</p><p>
To disable polling, specify <code class="literal">-nopoll</code> before the
mailbox name.  The <code class="literal">-poll</code> argument can be used to
reenable polling for an existing mailbox.  If unspecified: a new
mailbox will poll by default, while an existing mailbox will be
unchanged.
</p><p>
The <code class="literal">-label</code> argument can be used to specify an
alternative label to print in the sidebar or mailbox browser instead
of the mailbox path.  A label may be removed via the
<code class="literal">-nolabel</code> argument.  If unspecified, an existing
mailbox label will be unchanged.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>mailbox</em></span> can either be a local file or directory
(Mbox/Mmdf or Maildir/Mh). If Mutt was built with POP and/or IMAP
support, <span class="emphasis"><em>mailbox</em></span> can also be a POP/IMAP folder
URL. The URL syntax is described in <a class="xref" href="#url-syntax" title="1.2. URL Syntax">Section 1.2, “URL Syntax”</a>, POP
and IMAP are described in <a class="xref" href="#pop" title="3. POP3 Support">Section 3, “POP3 Support”</a> and <a class="xref" href="#imap" title="4. IMAP Support">Section 4, “IMAP Support”</a> respectively.
</p><p>
Mutt provides a number of advanced features for handling (possibly many)
folders and new mail within them, please refer to <a class="xref" href="#new-mail" title="13. New Mail Detection">Section 13, “New Mail Detection”</a> for details (including in what situations and how
often Mutt checks for new mail).
Additionally, <a class="link" href="#new-mail-command" title="3.202. new_mail_command">$new_mail_command</a>
can be used to run a command when new mail is detected.
</p><p>
The <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unmailboxes</span>”</span> command is used to remove a token from
the list of folders which receive mail. Use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unmailboxes *</span>”</span>
to remove all tokens.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
The folders in the <span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span> command are resolved
when the command is executed, so if these names contain <a class="link" href="#shortcuts" title="10. Mailbox Shortcuts">shortcut characters</a> (such as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=</span>”</span>
and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">!</span>”</span>), any variable definition that affects these
characters (like <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a> and <a class="link" href="#spoolfile" title="3.365. spoolfile">$spoolfile</a>) should be set before the
<span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span> command. If none of these shortcuts are
used, a local path should be absolute as otherwise Mutt tries to find it
relative to the directory from where Mutt was started which may not
always be desired.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="my-hdr"></a>17. User-Defined Headers</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">my_hdr</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>string</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">unmy_hdr</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>field</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>my_hdr</strong></span> command allows you to create your own
header fields which will be added to every message you send and appear
in the editor if <a class="link" href="#edit-headers" title="3.84. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a> is
set.
</p><p>
For example, if you would like to add an <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Organization:</span>”</span>
header field to all of your outgoing messages, you can put the command
something like shown in <a class="xref" href="#ex-my-hdr" title="Example 3.13. Defining custom headers">Example 3.13, “Defining custom headers”</a> in your
<code class="literal">.muttrc</code>.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-my-hdr"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.13. Defining custom headers</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
my_hdr Organization: A Really Big Company, Anytown, USA
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Space characters are <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> allowed between the
keyword and the colon (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">:</span>”</span>). The standard for electronic
mail (RFC2822) says that space is illegal there, so Mutt enforces the
rule.
</p></div><p>
If you would like to add a header field to a single message, you should
either set the <a class="link" href="#edit-headers" title="3.84. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a>
variable, or use the <code class="literal">&lt;edit-headers&gt;</code> function
(default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">E</span>”</span>) in the compose menu so that you can edit the
header of your message along with the body.
</p><p>
To remove user defined header fields, use the
<span class="command"><strong>unmy_hdr</strong></span> command. You may specify an asterisk
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span>) to remove all header fields, or the fields to
remove. For example, to remove all <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To</span>”</span> and
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc</span>”</span> header fields, you could use:
</p><pre class="screen">
unmy_hdr to cc
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="save-hook"></a>18. Specify Default Save Mailbox</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">save-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command is used to override the default mailbox used when saving
messages. <span class="emphasis"><em>mailbox</em></span> will be used as the default if
the message matches <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span>, see <a class="xref" href="#pattern-hook" title="6.1. Message Matching in Hooks">Message Matching in Hooks</a> for information on the exact format.
</p><p>
To provide more flexibility and good defaults, Mutt applies the expandos
of <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> to
<span class="emphasis"><em>mailbox</em></span> after it was expanded.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-save-hook-exando"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.14. Using %-expandos in <span class="command">save-hook</span></strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
<span class="comment"># default: save all to ~/Mail/&lt;author name&gt;</span>
save-hook . ~/Mail/%F

<span class="comment"># save from me@turing.cs.hmc.edu and me@cs.hmc.edu to $folder/elkins</span>
save-hook me@(turing\\.)?cs\\.hmc\\.edu$ +elkins

<span class="comment"># save from aol.com to $folder/spam</span>
save-hook aol\\.com$ +spam
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#fcc-save-hook" title="20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once"><span class="command"><strong>fcc-save-hook</strong></span></a> command.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="fcc-hook"></a>19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">fcc-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command is used to save outgoing mail in a mailbox other than <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a>.  Mutt searches the initial list of
message recipients for the first matching <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span>
and uses <span class="emphasis"><em>mailbox</em></span> as the default Fcc: mailbox.  If
no match is found the message will be saved to <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> mailbox.
</p><p>
To provide more flexibility and good defaults, Mutt applies the
expandos of <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> to
<span class="emphasis"><em>mailbox</em></span> after it was expanded.
</p><p>
See <a class="xref" href="#pattern-hook" title="6.1. Message Matching in Hooks">Message Matching in Hooks</a> for information on the exact format
of <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span>.
</p><pre class="screen">fcc-hook [@.]aol\\.com$ +spammers</pre><p>
...will save a copy of all messages going to the aol.com domain to the
`+spammers' mailbox by default.  Also see the <a class="link" href="#fcc-save-hook" title="20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once"><span class="command"><strong>fcc-save-hook</strong></span></a> command.
</p><p>
Multiple mailboxes may be specified by separating them with <a class="link" href="#fcc-delimiter" title="3.95. fcc_delimiter">$fcc_delimiter</a>, if set:
</p><pre class="screen">
  set fcc_delimiter = ','
  fcc-hook 'foo@example\.com$' '+one,+two'
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="fcc-save-hook"></a>20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">fcc-save-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command is a shortcut, almost equivalent to doing both a <a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing"><span class="command"><strong>fcc-hook</strong></span></a> and a <a class="link" href="#save-hook" title="18. Specify Default Save Mailbox"><span class="command"><strong>save-hook</strong></span></a> with its
arguments, including %-expansion on <span class="emphasis"><em>mailbox</em></span>
according to <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>.
</p><p>
Note, however that the fcc-save-hook is not designed to take advantage
of multiple mailboxes, as fcc-hook is.  For correct behavior, you should
use separate fcc and save hooks in that case.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="send-hook"></a>21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients</h2></div></div></div><a id="reply-hook"></a><a id="send2-hook"></a><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">reply-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">send-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">send2-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
These commands can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands
based upon recipients of the message.  <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> is
used to match the message, see <a class="xref" href="#pattern-hook" title="6.1. Message Matching in Hooks">Message Matching in Hooks</a> for
details. <span class="emphasis"><em>command</em></span> is executed when
<span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> matches.
</p><p>
<span class="command"><strong>reply-hook</strong></span> is matched against the message you are
<span class="emphasis"><em>replying to</em></span>, instead of the message you are
<span class="emphasis"><em>sending</em></span>.  <span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span> is matched
against all messages, both <span class="emphasis"><em>new</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>replies</em></span>.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
<span class="command"><strong>reply-hook</strong></span>s are matched <span class="emphasis"><em>before</em></span> the
<span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>regardless</em></span> of the order
specified in the user's configuration file.  However, you can inhibit
<span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span> in the reply case by using the pattern
<code class="literal">'! ~Q'</code> (<span class="emphasis"><em>not replied</em></span>, see
<a class="xref" href="#pattern-hook" title="6.1. Message Matching in Hooks">Message Matching in Hooks</a>) in the <span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span> to tell
when <span class="command"><strong>reply-hook</strong></span> have been executed.
</p></div><p>
<span class="command"><strong>send2-hook</strong></span> is matched every time a message is
changed, either by editing it, or by using the compose menu to change
its recipients or subject.  <span class="command"><strong>send2-hook</strong></span> is executed
after <span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span>, and can, e.g., be used to set
parameters such as the <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a>
variable depending on the message's sender address.
</p><p>
For each type of <span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span> or
<span class="command"><strong>reply-hook</strong></span>, when multiple matches occur, commands are
executed in the order they are specified in the
<code class="literal">.muttrc</code> (for that type of hook).
</p><p>
Example: <code class="literal"><span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span> mutt
"<span class="command"><strong>set</strong></span> mime_forward signature=''"</code>
</p><p>
Another typical use for this command is to change the values of the
<a class="link" href="#attribution" title="3.20. attribution">$attribution</a>, <a class="link" href="#attribution-locale" title="3.21. attribution_locale">$attribution_locale</a>, and <a class="link" href="#signature" title="3.321. signature">$signature</a> variables in order to change the
language of the attributions and signatures based upon the recipients.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
<span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span>'s are only executed once after getting the
initial list of recipients.  They are not executed when resuming a postponed
draft.  Adding a recipient after replying or
editing the message will not cause any <span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span> to
be executed, similarly if <a class="link" href="#autoedit" title="3.28. autoedit">$autoedit</a> is
set (as then the initial list of recipients is empty). Also note that
<a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers"><span class="command"><strong>my_hdr</strong></span></a> commands which
modify recipient headers, or the message's subject, don't have any
effect on the current message when executed from a
<span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span>.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="message-hook"></a>22. Change Settings Before Formatting a Message</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">message-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command can be used to execute arbitrary configuration commands
before viewing or formatting a message based upon information about the
message.  <span class="emphasis"><em>command</em></span> is executed if the
<span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> matches the message to be displayed. When
multiple matches occur, commands are executed in the order they are
specified in the <code class="literal">.muttrc</code>.
</p><p>
See <a class="xref" href="#pattern-hook" title="6.1. Message Matching in Hooks">Message Matching in Hooks</a> for information on the exact format
of <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span>.
</p><p>
Example:
</p><pre class="screen">
message-hook ~A 'set pager=builtin'
message-hook '~f freshmeat-news' 'set pager="less \"+/^  subject: .*\""'
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="crypt-hook"></a>23. Choosing the Cryptographic Key of the Recipient</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">crypt-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>keyid</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
When encrypting messages with PGP/GnuPG or OpenSSL, you may want to
associate a certain key with a given e-mail address automatically,
either because the recipient's public key can't be deduced from the
destination address, or because, for some reasons, you need to override
the key Mutt would normally use.  The <span class="command"><strong>crypt-hook</strong></span>
command provides a method by which you can specify the ID of the public
key to be used when encrypting messages to a certain recipient.
You may use multiple crypt-hooks with the same regexp; multiple
matching crypt-hooks result in the use of multiple keyids for
a recipient.  During key selection, Mutt will confirm whether each
crypt-hook is to be used (unless the <a class="link" href="#crypt-confirmhook" title="3.60. crypt_confirmhook">$crypt_confirmhook</a> option is unset).
If all crypt-hooks for a recipient are declined, Mutt will use the
original recipient address for key selection instead.
</p><p>
The meaning of <span class="emphasis"><em>keyid</em></span> is to be taken broadly in this
context: You can either put a numerical key ID or fingerprint here, an
e-mail address, or even just a real name.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="index-format-hook"></a>24. Dynamically Changing $index_format using Patterns</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">index-format-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>format-string</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command is used to inject format strings dynamically into <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> based on pattern matching
against the current message.
</p><p>
The <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> expando
<span class="emphasis"><em>%@name@</em></span> specifies a placeholder for the
injection.  Index-format-hooks with the same <span class="emphasis"><em>name</em></span>
are matched using <a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging"><span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span></a> against the
current message.  Matching is done in the order specified in the
.muttrc, with the first match being used.  The hook's
<span class="emphasis"><em>format-string</em></span> is then substituted and evaluated.
</p><p>
Because the first match is used, best practice is to put a catch-all
<span class="emphasis"><em>~A</em></span> pattern as the last hook.  Here is an example
showing how to implement dynamic date formatting:
</p><pre class="screen">
set index_format="%4C %-6@date@ %-15.15F %Z (%4c) %s"

index-format-hook  date  "~d&lt;1d"    "%[%H:%M]"
index-format-hook  date  "~d&lt;1m"    "%[%a %d]"
index-format-hook  date  "~d&lt;1y"    "%[%b %d]"
index-format-hook  date  "~A"       "%[%m/%y]"
</pre><p>
Another example, showing a way to prepend to the subject.  Note that
without a catch-all ~A pattern, no match results in the expando
being replaced with an empty string.
</p><pre class="screen">
set index_format="%4C %@subj_flags@%s"

index-format-hook  subj_flags  "~f boss@example.com"    "** BOSS ** "
index-format-hook  subj_flags  "~f spouse@example.com"  ":-) "
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="push"></a>25. Adding Key Sequences to the Keyboard Buffer</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">push</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>string</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command adds the named string to the beginning of the keyboard buffer. The string
may contain control characters, key names and function names like the
sequence string in the <a class="link" href="#macro" title="10. Keyboard Macros">macro</a> command. You
may use it to automatically run a sequence of commands at startup, or
when entering certain folders. For example, <a class="xref" href="#ex-folder-hook-push" title="Example 3.15. Embedding push in folder-hook">Example 3.15, “Embedding <span class="command">push</span> in <span class="command">folder-hook</span>”</a> shows how to automatically collapse all
threads when entering a folder.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-folder-hook-push"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.15. Embedding <span class="command">push</span> in <span class="command">folder-hook</span></strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
folder-hook . 'push &lt;collapse-all&gt;'
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
For using functions like shown in the example, it's important to use
angle brackets (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">&lt;</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">&gt;</span>”</span>) to make
Mutt recognize the input as a function name. Otherwise it will simulate
individual just keystrokes, i.e. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">push
collapse-all</code></span>”</span> would be interpreted as if you had typed
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">c</span>”</span>, followed by <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">o</span>”</span>, followed by
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">l</span>”</span>, ..., which is not desired and may lead to very
unexpected behavior.
</p><p>
Keystrokes can be used, too, but are less portable because of
potentially changed key bindings. With default bindings, this is
equivalent to the above example:
</p><pre class="screen">
folder-hook . 'push \eV'
</pre><p>
because it simulates that Esc+V was pressed (which is the default
binding of <code class="literal">&lt;collapse-all&gt;</code>).
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="exec"></a>26. Executing Functions</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">exec</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>function</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>function</code></em>
...]</p></div><p>
This command can be used to execute any function. Functions are listed
in the <a class="link" href="#functions" title="4. Functions">function reference</a>.
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><span class="command"><strong>exec</strong></span> <code class="literal">function</code></span>”</span> is
equivalent to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">push &lt;function&gt;</code></span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="score-command"></a>27. Message Scoring</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">score</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">unscore</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>score</strong></span> commands adds <span class="emphasis"><em>value</em></span>
to a message's score if <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> matches it.
<span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> is a string in the format described in
the <a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">patterns</a> section (note: For
efficiency reasons, patterns which scan information not available in
the index, such as <code class="literal">~b</code>, <code class="literal">~B</code>,
<code class="literal">~h</code>, <code class="literal">~M</code>, or <code class="literal">~X</code>
may not be used).  <span class="emphasis"><em>value</em></span> is a positive or
negative integer.  A message's final score is the sum total of all
matching <span class="command"><strong>score</strong></span> entries.  However, you may
optionally prefix <span class="emphasis"><em>value</em></span> with an equal sign
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=</span>”</span>) to cause evaluation to stop at a particular entry
if there is a match.  Negative final scores are rounded up to 0.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>unscore</strong></span> command removes score entries from the
list.  You <span class="emphasis"><em>must</em></span> specify the same pattern specified
in the <span class="command"><strong>score</strong></span> command for it to be removed.  The
pattern <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> is a special token which means to clear the
list of all score entries.
</p><p>
Scoring occurs as the messages are read in, before the mailbox is
sorted.  Because of this, patterns which depend on threading, such as
<span class="emphasis"><em>~=</em></span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>~$</em></span>, and
<span class="emphasis"><em>~()</em></span>, will not work by default.  A workaround is
to push the scoring command in a folder hook.  This will cause the
mailbox to be rescored after it is opened and input starts being
processed:
</p><pre class="screen">
folder-hook . 'push "&lt;enter-command&gt;score ~= 10&lt;enter&gt;"'
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="spam"></a>28. Spam Detection</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">spam</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>format</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">nospam</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
 }</p></div><p>
Mutt has generalized support for external spam-scoring filters.  By
defining your spam patterns with the <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> and
<code class="literal">nospam</code> commands, you can <span class="emphasis"><em>limit</em></span>,
<span class="emphasis"><em>search</em></span>, and <span class="emphasis"><em>sort</em></span> your mail
based on its spam attributes, as determined by the external filter. You
also can display the spam attributes in your index display using the
<code class="literal">%H</code> selector in the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> variable. (Tip: try
<code class="literal">%?H?[%H] ?</code> to display spam tags only when they are
defined for a given message.)
</p><p>
Note: the value displayed by <code class="literal">%H</code> and searched by
<code class="literal">~H</code> is stored in the <a class="link" href="#caching" title="8. Local Caching">header
cache</a>.  Mutt isn't smart enough to invalidate a header cache
entry based on changing <code class="literal">spam</code> rules, so if you
aren't seeing correct <code class="literal">%H</code> values, try temporarily
turning off the header cache.  If that fixes the problem, then once
your spam rules are set to your liking, remove your stale header cache
files and turn the header cache back on.
</p><p>
Your first step is to define your external filter's spam patterns using
the <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> command. <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> should
be a regular expression that matches a header in a mail message. If any
message in the mailbox matches this regular expression, it will receive
a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">spam tag</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">spam attribute</span>”</span> (unless it
also matches a <span class="command"><strong>nospam</strong></span> pattern — see below.) The
appearance of this attribute is entirely up to you, and is governed by
the <span class="emphasis"><em>format</em></span> parameter. <span class="emphasis"><em>format</em></span>
can be any static text, but it also can include back-references from the
<span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> expression. (A regular expression
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">back-reference</span>”</span> refers to a sub-expression contained
within parentheses.) <code class="literal">%1</code> is replaced with the first
back-reference in the regex, <code class="literal">%2</code> with the second, etc.
</p><p>
To match spam tags, mutt needs the corresponding header information
which is always the case for local and POP folders but not for IMAP in
the default configuration. Depending on the spam header to be analyzed,
<a class="link" href="#imap-headers" title="3.140. imap_headers">$imap_headers</a> may need to be
adjusted.
</p><p>
If you're using multiple spam filters, a message can have more than one
spam-related header. You can define <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> patterns for
each filter you use. If a message matches two or more of these patterns,
and the <a class="link" href="#spam-separator" title="3.364. spam_separator">$spam_separator</a> variable
is set to a string, then the message's spam tag will consist of all the
<span class="emphasis"><em>format</em></span> strings joined together, with the value of
<a class="link" href="#spam-separator" title="3.364. spam_separator">$spam_separator</a> separating them.
</p><p>
For example, suppose one uses DCC, SpamAssassin, and PureMessage, then
the configuration might look like in <a class="xref" href="#ex-spam" title="Example 3.16. Configuring spam detection">Example 3.16, “Configuring spam detection”</a>.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-spam"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.16. Configuring spam detection</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
spam "X-DCC-.*-Metrics:.*(....)=many"         "90+/DCC-%1"
spam "X-Spam-Status: Yes"                     "90+/SA"
spam "X-PerlMX-Spam: .*Probability=([0-9]+)%" "%1/PM"
set spam_separator=", "
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
If then a message is received that DCC registered with
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">many</span>”</span> hits under the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Fuz2</span>”</span> checksum, and
that PureMessage registered with a 97% probability of being spam, that
message's spam tag would read <code class="literal">90+/DCC-Fuz2,
97/PM</code>. (The four characters before <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=many</span>”</span> in a
DCC report indicate the checksum used — in this case,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Fuz2</span>”</span>.)
</p><p>
If the <a class="link" href="#spam-separator" title="3.364. spam_separator">$spam_separator</a> variable is
unset, then each spam pattern match supersedes the previous one. Instead
of getting joined <span class="emphasis"><em>format</em></span> strings, you'll get only
the last one to match.
</p><p>
The spam tag is what will be displayed in the index when you use
<code class="literal">%H</code> in the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> variable. It's also the
string that the <code class="literal">~H</code> pattern-matching expression
matches against for <code class="literal">&lt;search&gt;</code> and
<code class="literal">&lt;limit&gt;</code> functions. And it's what sorting by
spam attribute will use as a sort key.
</p><p>
That's a pretty complicated example, and most people's actual
environments will have only one spam filter. The simpler your
configuration, the more effective Mutt can be, especially when it comes
to sorting.
</p><p>
Generally, when you sort by spam tag, Mutt will sort
<span class="emphasis"><em>lexically</em></span> — that is, by ordering strings
alphanumerically. However, if a spam tag begins with a number, Mutt will
sort numerically first, and lexically only when two numbers are equal in
value. (This is like UNIX's <code class="literal">sort -n</code>.) A message with
no spam attributes at all — that is, one that didn't match
<span class="emphasis"><em>any</em></span> of your <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> patterns
— is sorted at lowest priority. Numbers are sorted next, beginning
with 0 and ranging upward. Finally, non-numeric strings are sorted, with
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">a</span>”</span> taking lower priority than <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">z</span>”</span>. Clearly,
in general, sorting by spam tags is most effective when you can coerce
your filter to give you a raw number. But in case you can't, Mutt can
still do something useful.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>nospam</strong></span> command can be used to write exceptions to
<span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> patterns. If a header pattern matches something
in a <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> command, but you nonetheless do not want it
to receive a spam tag, you can list a more precise pattern under a
<span class="command"><strong>nospam</strong></span> command.
</p><p>
If the <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> given to <span class="command"><strong>nospam</strong></span>
is exactly the same as the <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> on an existing
<span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> list entry, the effect will be to remove the
entry from the spam list, instead of adding an exception.  Likewise, if
the <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> for a <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> command
matches an entry on the <span class="command"><strong>nospam</strong></span> list, that nospam
entry will be removed. If the <span class="emphasis"><em>pattern</em></span> for
<span class="command"><strong>nospam</strong></span> is <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>all entries on
both lists</em></span> will be removed. This might be the default action
if you use <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> and <span class="command"><strong>nospam</strong></span> in
conjunction with a <span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span>.
</p><p>
You can have as many <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> or
<span class="command"><strong>nospam</strong></span> commands as you like.  You can even do your
own primitive <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> detection within Mutt — for
example, if you consider all mail from <code class="literal">MAILER-DAEMON</code>
to be spam, you can use a <span class="command"><strong>spam</strong></span> command like this:
</p><pre class="screen">
spam "^From: .*MAILER-DAEMON"       "999"
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="set"></a>29. Setting and Querying Variables</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="var-types"></a>29.1. Variable Types</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports these types of configuration variables:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">boolean</span></dt><dd><p>
A boolean expression, either <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">yes</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no</span>”</span>.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">number</span></dt><dd><p>
A signed integer number in the range -32768 to 32767.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">number (long)</span></dt><dd><p>
A signed integer number in the range -2147483648 to 2147483647.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">string</span></dt><dd><p>
Arbitrary text.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">path</span></dt><dd><p>
A specialized string for representing paths including support for
mailbox shortcuts (see <a class="xref" href="#shortcuts" title="10. Mailbox Shortcuts">Section 10, “Mailbox Shortcuts”</a>) as well as tilde
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~</span>”</span>) for a user's home directory and more.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">quadoption</span></dt><dd><p>
Like a boolean but triggers a prompt when set to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ask-yes</span>”</span>
or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ask-no</span>”</span> with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">yes</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no</span>”</span>
preselected respectively.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">sort order</span></dt><dd><p>
A specialized string allowing only particular words as values depending
on the variable.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">regular expression</span></dt><dd><p>
A regular expression, see <a class="xref" href="#regexp" title="2. Regular Expressions">Section 2, “Regular Expressions”</a> for an introduction.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">folder magic</span></dt><dd><p>
Specifies the type of folder to use: <span class="emphasis"><em>mbox</em></span>,
<span class="emphasis"><em>mmdf</em></span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>mh</em></span> or
<span class="emphasis"><em>maildir</em></span>.  Currently only used to determine the type
for newly created folders.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">e-mail address</span></dt><dd><p>
An e-mail address either with or without realname. The older
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">user@example.org (Joe User)</code></span>”</span> form is
supported but strongly deprecated.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">user-defined</span></dt><dd><p>
Arbitrary text, see <a class="xref" href="#set-myvar" title="29.3. User-Defined Variables">Section 29.3, “User-Defined Variables”</a> for details.
</p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="set-commands"></a>29.2. Commands</h3></div></div></div><p>
The following commands are available to manipulate and query variables:
</p><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">set</code>  { 
[ <code class="option">no</code>  |   <code class="option">inv</code> ]
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable=value</code></em>
 } [...]<br /><code class="command">toggle</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unset</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">reset</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
...]</p></div><p>
This command is used to set (and unset) <a class="link" href="#variables" title="3. Configuration Variables">configuration variables</a>.  There are four
basic types of variables: boolean, number, string and quadoption.
<span class="emphasis"><em>boolean</em></span> variables can be <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>
(true) or <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> (false).
<span class="emphasis"><em>number</em></span> variables can be assigned a positive integer
value.  <span class="emphasis"><em>string</em></span> variables consist of any number of
printable characters and must be enclosed in quotes if they contain
spaces or tabs.  You may also use the escape sequences <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\n</span>”</span>
and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\t</span>”</span> for newline and tab, respectively.
<span class="emphasis"><em>quadoption</em></span> variables are used to control whether or
not to be prompted for certain actions, or to specify a default action.
A value of <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span> will cause the action to be carried
out automatically as if you had answered yes to the question.
Similarly, a value of <span class="emphasis"><em>no</em></span> will cause the action to
be carried out as if you had answered <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no.</span>”</span> A value of
<span class="emphasis"><em>ask-yes</em></span> will cause a prompt with a default answer
of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">yes</span>”</span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>ask-no</em></span> will provide a
default answer of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no.</span>”</span>
</p><p>
Prefixing a variable with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no</span>”</span> will unset it.  Example:
<code class="literal"><span class="command"><strong>set</strong></span> noaskbcc</code>.
</p><p>
For <span class="emphasis"><em>boolean</em></span> variables, you may optionally prefix
the variable name with <code class="literal">inv</code> to toggle the value (on or
off).  This is useful when writing macros.  Example:
<code class="literal"><span class="command"><strong>set</strong></span> invsmart_wrap</code>.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>toggle</strong></span> command automatically prepends the
<code class="literal">inv</code> prefix to all specified variables.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>unset</strong></span> command automatically prepends the
<code class="literal">no</code> prefix to all specified variables.
</p><p>
Using the <code class="literal">&lt;enter-command&gt;</code> function in the
<span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> menu, you can query the value of a variable
by prefixing the name of the variable with a question mark:
</p><pre class="screen">
set ?allow_8bit
</pre><p>
The question mark is actually only required for boolean and quadoption
variables.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>reset</strong></span> command resets all given variables to the
compile time defaults (hopefully mentioned in this manual). If you use
the command <span class="command"><strong>set</strong></span> and prefix the variable with
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">&amp;</span>”</span> this has the same behavior as the
<span class="command"><strong>reset</strong></span> command.
</p><p>
With the <span class="command"><strong>reset</strong></span> command there exists the special
variable <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">all</span>”</span>, which allows you to reset all variables to
their system defaults.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="set-myvar"></a>29.3. User-Defined Variables</h3></div></div></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="set-myvar-intro"></a>29.3.1. Introduction</h4></div></div></div><p>
Along with the variables listed in the <a class="link" href="#variables" title="3. Configuration Variables">Configuration variables</a> section, Mutt
supports user-defined variables with names starting with
<code class="literal">my_</code> as in, for example, <code class="literal">my_cfgdir</code>.
</p><p>
The <span class="command"><strong>set</strong></span> command either creates a custom
<code class="literal">my_</code> variable or changes its value if it does exist
already. The <span class="command"><strong>unset</strong></span> and <span class="command"><strong>reset</strong></span>
commands remove the variable entirely.
</p><p>
Since user-defined variables are expanded in the same way that
environment variables are (except for the <a class="link" href="#shell-escape">shell-escape</a> command and backtick
expansion), this feature can be used to make configuration files more
readable.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="set-myvar-examples"></a>29.3.2. Examples</h4></div></div></div><p>
The following example defines and uses the variable
<code class="literal">my_cfgdir</code> to abbreviate the calls of the <a class="link" href="#source" title="30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File"><span class="command"><strong>source</strong></span></a> command:
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-myvar1"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.17. Using user-defined variables for config file readability</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set my_cfgdir = $HOME/mutt/config

source $my_cfgdir/hooks
source $my_cfgdir/macros
<span class="comment"># more source commands...</span>
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
A custom variable can also be used in macros to backup the current value
of another variable. In the following example, the value of the <a class="link" href="#delete" title="3.76. delete">$delete</a> is changed temporarily while its
original value is saved as <code class="literal">my_delete</code>.  After the
macro has executed all commands, the original value of <a class="link" href="#delete" title="3.76. delete">$delete</a> is restored.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-myvar2"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.18. Using user-defined variables for backing up other config option values</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
macro pager ,x '\
&lt;enter-command&gt;set my_delete=$delete&lt;enter&gt;\
&lt;enter-command&gt;set delete=yes&lt;enter&gt;\
...\
&lt;enter-command&gt;set delete=$my_delete&lt;enter&gt;'
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
Since Mutt expands such values already when parsing the configuration
file(s), the value of <code class="literal">$my_delete</code> in the
last example would be the value of <a class="link" href="#delete" title="3.76. delete">$delete</a> exactly
as it was at that point during parsing the configuration file. If
another statement would change the value for <a class="link" href="#delete" title="3.76. delete">$delete</a>
later in the same or another file, it would have no effect on
<code class="literal">$my_delete</code>. However, the expansion can
be deferred to runtime, as shown in the next example, when escaping the
dollar sign.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-myvar3"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.19. Deferring user-defined variable expansion to runtime</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
macro pager &lt;PageDown&gt; "\
&lt;enter-command&gt; set my_old_pager_stop=\$pager_stop pager_stop&lt;Enter&gt;\
&lt;next-page&gt;\
&lt;enter-command&gt; set pager_stop=\$my_old_pager_stop&lt;Enter&gt;\
&lt;enter-command&gt; unset my_old_pager_stop&lt;Enter&gt;"
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
Note that there is a space between
<code class="literal">&lt;enter-command&gt;</code> and the <span class="command"><strong>set</strong></span>
configuration command, preventing Mutt from recording the
<span class="command"><strong>macro</strong></span>'s commands into its history.
</p></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="set-conversions"></a>29.4. Type Conversions</h3></div></div></div><p>
Variables are always assigned string values which Mutt parses into its
internal representation according to the type of the variable, for
example an integer number for numeric types. For all queries (including
$-expansion) the value is converted from its internal type back into
string. As a result, any variable can be assigned any value given that
its content is valid for the target. This also counts for custom
variables which are of type string. In case of parsing errors, Mutt will
print error messages. <a class="xref" href="#ex-myvar4" title="Example 3.20. Type conversions using variables">Example 3.20, “Type conversions using variables”</a> demonstrates type
conversions.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-myvar4"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.20. Type conversions using variables</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set my_lines = "5"                <span class="comment"># value is string "5"</span>
set pager_index_lines = $my_lines <span class="comment"># value is integer 5</span>

set my_sort = "date-received"     <span class="comment"># value is string "date-received"</span>
set sort = "last-$my_sort"        <span class="comment"># value is sort last-date-received</span>

set my_inc = $read_inc            <span class="comment"># value is string "10" (default of $read_inc)</span>
set my_foo = $my_inc              <span class="comment"># value is string "10"</span>
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
These assignments are all valid. If, however, the value of
<code class="literal">$my_lines</code> would have been
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">five</span>”</span> (or something else that cannot be parsed into a
number), the assignment to
<code class="literal">$pager_index_lines</code> would have
produced an error message.
</p><p>
Type conversion applies to all configuration commands which take
arguments. But please note that every expanded value of a variable is
considered just a single token. A working example is:
</p><pre class="screen">
set my_pattern = "~A"
set my_number = "10"

<span class="comment"># same as: score ~A +10</span>
score $my_pattern +$my_number</pre><p>
What does <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> work is:
</p><pre class="screen">
set my_mx = "+mailbox1 +mailbox2"
mailboxes $my_mx +mailbox3</pre><p>
because the value of <code class="literal">$my_mx</code> is interpreted as a
single mailbox named <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+mailbox1 +mailbox2</span>”</span> and not two
distinct mailboxes.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="source"></a>30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">source</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>filename</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
This command allows the inclusion of initialization commands from other
files.  For example, I place all of my aliases in
<code class="literal">~/.mail_aliases</code> so that I can make my
<code class="literal">~/.muttrc</code> readable and keep my aliases private.
</p><p>
If the filename begins with a tilde (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~</span>”</span>), it will be
expanded to the path of your home directory.
</p><p>
If the filename ends with a vertical bar (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">|</span>”</span>), then
<span class="emphasis"><em>filename</em></span> is considered to be an executable program
from which to read input (e.g.  <code class="literal"><span class="command"><strong>source</strong></span>
~/bin/myscript|</code>).
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="unhook"></a>31. Removing Hooks</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">unhook</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>hook-type</code></em>
 }</p></div><p>
This command permits you to flush hooks you have previously defined.
You can either remove all hooks by giving the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> character
as an argument, or you can remove all hooks of a specific type by saying
something like <code class="literal"><span class="command"><strong>unhook</strong></span> send-hook</code>.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="formatstrings"></a>32. Format Strings</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="formatstrings-basics"></a>32.1. Basic usage</h3></div></div></div><p>
Format strings are a general concept you'll find in several locations
through the Mutt configuration, especially in the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>, <a class="link" href="#pager-format" title="3.205. pager_format">$pager_format</a>, <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a>, and other related
variables. These can be very straightforward, and it's quite possible
you already know how to use them.
</p><p>
The most basic format string element is a percent symbol followed by
another character. For example, <code class="literal">%s</code> represents a
message's Subject: header in the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> variable. The
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">expandos</span>”</span> available are documented with each format
variable, but there are general modifiers available with all formatting
expandos, too. Those are our concern here.
</p><p>
Some of the modifiers are borrowed right out of C (though you might know
them from Perl, Python, shell, or another language). These are the
<code class="literal">[-]m.n</code> modifiers, as in
<code class="literal">%-12.12s</code>. As with such programming languages, these
modifiers allow you to specify the minimum and maximum size of the
resulting string, as well as its justification. If the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span>
sign follows the percent, the string will be left-justified instead of
right-justified. If there's a number immediately following that, it's
the minimum amount of space the formatted string will occupy — if
it's naturally smaller than that, it will be padded out with spaces.  If
a decimal point and another number follow, that's the maximum space
allowable — the string will not be permitted to exceed that width,
no matter its natural size. Each of these three elements is optional, so
that all these are legal format strings: <code class="literal">%-12s</code>,
<code class="literal">%4c</code>, <code class="literal">%.15F</code> and
<code class="literal">%-12.15L</code>.
</p><p>
Mutt adds some other modifiers to format strings. If you use an equals
symbol (<code class="literal">=</code>) as a numeric prefix (like the minus
above), it will force the string to be centered within its minimum space
range. For example, <code class="literal">%=14y</code> will reserve 14 characters
for the %y expansion — that's the X-Label: header, in <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>. If the expansion results in
a string less than 14 characters, it will be centered in a 14-character
space.  If the X-Label for a message were <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">test</span>”</span>, that
expansion would look like
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">     test     </span>”</span>.
</p><p>
There are two very little-known modifiers that affect the way that an
expando is replaced. If there is an underline (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">_</span>”</span>)
character between any format modifiers (as above) and the expando
letter, it will expands in all lower case. And if you use a colon
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">:</span>”</span>), it will replace all decimal points with underlines.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="formatstrings-conditionals"></a>32.2. Conditionals</h3></div></div></div><p>
Depending on the format string variable, some of its sequences can be
used to optionally print a string if their value is nonzero. For
example, you may only want to see the number of flagged messages if such
messages exist, since zero is not particularly meaningful. To optionally
print a string based upon one of the above sequences, the following
construct is used:
</p><pre class="screen">
%?&lt;sequence_char&gt;?&lt;optional_string&gt;?</pre><p>
where <span class="emphasis"><em>sequence_char</em></span> is an expando, and
<span class="emphasis"><em>optional_string</em></span> is the string you would like
printed if <span class="emphasis"><em>sequence_char</em></span> is nonzero.
<span class="emphasis"><em>optional_string</em></span> may contain other sequences as well
as normal text, but you may not nest optional strings.
</p><p>
Here is an example illustrating how to optionally print the number of
new messages in a mailbox in <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a>:
</p><pre class="screen">
%?n?%n new messages.?</pre><p>
You can also switch between two strings using the following construct:
</p><pre class="screen">
%?&lt;sequence_char&gt;?&lt;if_string&gt;&amp;&lt;else_string&gt;?</pre><p>
If the value of <span class="emphasis"><em>sequence_char</em></span> is non-zero,
<span class="emphasis"><em>if_string</em></span> will be expanded, otherwise
<span class="emphasis"><em>else_string</em></span> will be expanded.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="formatstrings-filters"></a>32.3. Filters</h3></div></div></div><p>
Any format string ending in a vertical bar (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">|</span>”</span>) will be
expanded and piped through the first word in the string, using spaces as
separator. The string returned will be used for display.  If the
returned string ends in %, it will be passed through the formatter a
second time. This allows the filter to generate a replacement format
string including % expandos.
</p><p>
All % expandos in a format string are expanded before the script is
called so that:
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-fmtpipe"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 3.21. Using external filters in format strings</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
set status_format="script.sh '%r %f (%L)'|"
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
will make Mutt expand <code class="literal">%r</code>, <code class="literal">%f</code> and
<code class="literal">%L</code> before calling the script. The example also shows
that arguments can be quoted: the script will receive the expanded
string between the single quotes as the only argument.
</p><p>
A practical example is the <code class="literal">mutt_xtitle</code> script
installed in the <code class="literal">samples</code> subdirectory of the Mutt
documentation: it can be used as filter for <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a> to set the current
terminal's title, if supported.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="formatstrings-padding"></a>32.4. Padding</h3></div></div></div><p>
In most format strings, Mutt supports different types of padding using
special %-expandos:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">%|X</code></span></dt><dd><p>
When this occurs, Mutt will fill the rest of the line with the character
<code class="literal">X</code>. For example, filling the rest of the line with
dashes is done by setting:
</p><pre class="screen">
set status_format = "%v on %h: %B: %?n?%n&amp;no? new messages %|-"</pre></dd><dt><span class="term">
<code class="literal">%&gt;X</code>
</span></dt><dd><p>
Since the previous expando stops at the end of line, there must be a way
to fill the gap between two items via the <code class="literal">%&gt;X</code>
expando: it puts as many characters <code class="literal">X</code> in between two
items so that the rest of the line will be right-justified. For example,
to not put the version string and hostname the above example on the left
but on the right and fill the gap with spaces, one might use (note the
space after <code class="literal">%&gt;</code>):
</p><pre class="screen">
set status_format = "%B: %?n?%n&amp;no? new messages %&gt; (%v on %h)"</pre></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">%*X</code>
</span></dt><dd><p>
Normal right-justification will print everything to the left of the
<code class="literal">%&gt;</code>, displaying padding and whatever lies to the
right only if there's room. By contrast, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">soft-fill</span>”</span> gives
priority to the right-hand side, guaranteeing space to display it and
showing padding only if there's still room. If necessary, soft-fill will
eat text leftwards to make room for rightward text. For example, to
right-justify the subject making sure as much as possible of it fits on
screen, one might use (note two spaces after <code class="literal">%* </code>: the
second ensures there's a space between the truncated right-hand side and
the subject):
</p><pre class="screen">
set index_format="%4C %Z %{%b %d} %-15.15L (%?l?%4l&amp;%4c?)%*  %s"</pre></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="formatstrings-size"></a>32.5. Bytes size display</h3></div></div></div><p>
Various format strings contain expandos that display the size of
messages in bytes.  This includes
<code class="literal">%s</code> in <a class="link" href="#attach-format" title="3.15. attach_format">$attach_format</a>,
<code class="literal">%l</code> in <a class="link" href="#compose-format" title="3.46. compose_format">$compose_format</a>,
<code class="literal">%s</code> in <a class="link" href="#folder-format" title="3.98. folder_format">$folder_format</a>,
<code class="literal">%c</code> in <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>,
and %l and %L in <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a>.
There are four configuration variables that can be used to customize
how the numbers are displayed.
</p><p>
  <a class="link" href="#size-show-bytes" title="3.323. size_show_bytes">$size_show_bytes</a>
  will display the number of bytes when the size is &lt; 1
  kilobyte.  When unset, kilobytes will be displayed instead.
</p><p>
  <a class="link" href="#size-show-mb" title="3.325. size_show_mb">$size_show_mb</a> will display the
  number of megabytes when the size is &gt;= 1 megabyte.  When
  unset, kilobytes will be displayed instead (which could be a large
  number).
</p><p>
  <a class="link" href="#size-show-fractions" title="3.324. size_show_fractions">$size_show_fractions</a>,
  will display numbers with a single decimal place for values from
  0 to 10 kilobytes, and 1 to 10 megabytes.
</p><p>
  <a class="link" href="#size-units-on-left" title="3.326. size_units_on_left">$size_units_on_left</a> will
  display the unit (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">K</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">M</span>”</span>) to the left
  of the number, instead of the right if unset.
</p><p>
  These variables also affect size display in a few other places, such
  as progress indicators and attachment delimiters in the pager.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="mailto-allow"></a>33. Control allowed header fields in a mailto: URL</h2></div></div></div><p>Usage:</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">mailto_allow</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>header-field</code></em>
... }<br /><code class="command">unmailto_allow</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>header-field</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
As a security measure, Mutt will only add user-approved header fields from a
<code class="literal">mailto:</code> URL.  This is necessary since Mutt will handle
certain header fields, such as <code class="literal">Attach:</code>, in a special way.
The <code class="literal">mailto_allow</code> and <code class="literal">unmailto_allow</code>
commands allow the user to modify the list of approved headers.
</p><p>
Mutt initializes the default list to contain the
<code class="literal">Subject</code> and <code class="literal">Body</code> header fields,
which are the only requirement specified by the
<code class="literal">mailto:</code> specification in RFC2368, along with
<code class="literal">Cc</code>, <code class="literal">In-Reply-To</code>, and
<code class="literal">References</code>, to support mailing list URLs.
</p></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="advancedusage"></a>Chapter 4. Advanced Usage</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#charset-handling">1. Character Set Handling</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#regexp">2. Regular Expressions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#patterns">3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#patterns-modifier">3.1. Pattern Modifier</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#simple-searches">3.2. Simple Searches</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#complex-patterns">3.3. Nesting and Boolean Operators</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#date-patterns">3.4. Searching by Date</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#markmsg">4. Marking Messages</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#tags">5. Using Tags</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#hooks">6. Using Hooks</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#pattern-hook">6.1. Message Matching in Hooks</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mailbox-hook">6.2. Mailbox Matching in Hooks</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#setenv">7. Managing the Environment</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#query">8. External Address Queries</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mailbox-formats">9. Mailbox Formats</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#shortcuts">10. Mailbox Shortcuts</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#using-lists">11. Handling Mailing Lists</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#display-munging">12. Display Munging</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#new-mail">13. New Mail Detection</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#new-mail-formats">13.1. How New Mail Detection Works</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#new-mail-polling">13.2. Polling For New Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#new-mail-monitoring">13.3. Monitoring New Mail</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#calc-mailbox-counts">13.4. Calculating Mailbox Message Counts</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#editing-threads">14. Editing Threads</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#link-threads">14.1. Linking Threads</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#break-threads">14.2. Breaking Threads</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#dsn">15. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#urlview">16. Start a WWW Browser on URLs</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#echo">17. Echoing Text</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#compose-flow">18. Message Composition Flow</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#batch-compose-flow">19. Batch Composition Flow</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#muttlisp">20. Using MuttLisp (EXPERIMENTAL)</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#run">20.1. Running a command generated by MuttLisp</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#muttlisp-interpolate">20.2. Interpolating MuttLisp in a Command Argument</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#muttlisp-syntax">20.3. MuttLisp Syntax</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#muttlisp-funcs">20.4. MuttLisp Functions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#muttlisp-examples">20.5. Examples</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#misc-topics">21. Miscellany</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="charset-handling"></a>1. Character Set Handling</h2></div></div></div><p>
A <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">character set</span>”</span> is basically a mapping between bytes and
glyphs and implies a certain character encoding scheme. For example, for
the ISO 8859 family of character sets, an encoding of 8bit per character
is used. For the Unicode character set, different character encodings
may be used, UTF-8 being the most popular. In UTF-8, a character is
represented using a variable number of bytes ranging from 1 to 4.
</p><p>
Since Mutt is a command-line tool run from a shell, and delegates
certain tasks to external tools (such as an editor for composing/editing
messages), all of these tools need to agree on a character set and
encoding. There exists no way to reliably deduce the character set a
plain text file has. Interoperability is gained by the use of
well-defined environment variables. The full set can be printed by
issuing <code class="literal">locale</code> on the command line.
</p><p>
Upon startup, Mutt determines the character set on its own using
routines that inspect locale-specific environment variables. Therefore,
it is generally not necessary to set the <code class="literal">$charset</code>
variable in Mutt. It may even be counter-productive as Mutt uses system
and library functions that derive the character set themselves and on
which Mutt has no influence. It's safest to let Mutt work out the locale
setup itself.
</p><p>
If you happen to work with several character sets on a regular basis,
it's highly advisable to use Unicode and an UTF-8 locale. Unicode can
represent nearly all characters in a message at the same time.  When not
using a Unicode locale, it may happen that you receive messages with
characters not representable in your locale. When displaying such a
message, or replying to or forwarding it, information may get lost
possibly rendering the message unusable (not only for you but also for
the recipient, this breakage is not reversible as lost information
cannot be guessed).
</p><p>
A Unicode locale makes all conversions superfluous which eliminates the
risk of conversion errors. It also eliminates potentially wrong
expectations about the character set between Mutt and external programs.
</p><p>
The terminal emulator used also must be properly configured for the
current locale. Terminal emulators usually do <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span>
derive the locale from environment variables, they need to be configured
separately. If the terminal is incorrectly configured, Mutt may display
random and unexpected characters (question marks, octal codes, or just
random glyphs), format strings may not work as expected, you may not be
abled to enter non-ascii characters, and possible more.  Data is always
represented using bytes and so a correct setup is very important as to
the machine, all character sets <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">look</span>”</span> the same.
</p><p>
Warning: A mismatch between what system and library functions think the
locale is and what Mutt was told what the locale is may make it behave
badly with non-ascii input: it will fail at seemingly random places.
This warning is to be taken seriously since not only local mail handling
may suffer: sent messages may carry wrong character set information the
<span class="emphasis"><em>receiver</em></span> has too deal with. The need to set
<code class="literal">$charset</code> directly in most cases points at terminal
and environment variable setup problems, not Mutt problems.
</p><p>
A list of officially assigned and known character sets can be found at
<a class="ulink" href="http://www.iana.org/assignments/character-sets" target="_top">IANA</a>,
a list of locally supported locales can be obtained by running
<code class="literal">locale -a</code>.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="regexp"></a>2. Regular Expressions</h2></div></div></div><p>
All string patterns in Mutt including those in more complex <a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">patterns</a> must be specified using regular
expressions (regexp) in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">POSIX extended</span>”</span> syntax (which
is more or less the syntax used by egrep and GNU awk).  For your
convenience, we have included below a brief description of this syntax.
</p><p>
The search is case sensitive if the pattern contains at least one upper
case letter, and case insensitive otherwise.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span> must be quoted if used for a regular expression in an
initialization command: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\\</span>”</span>.
</p></div><p>
A regular expression is a pattern that describes a set of strings.
Regular expressions are constructed analogously to arithmetic
expressions, by using various operators to combine smaller expressions.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
The regular expression can be enclosed/delimited by either " or ' which
is useful if the regular expression includes a white-space character.
See <a class="xref" href="#muttrc-syntax" title="3. Syntax of Initialization Files">Syntax of Initialization Files</a> for more information on " and '
delimiter processing.  To match a literal " or ' you must preface it
with \ (backslash).
</p></div><p>
The fundamental building blocks are the regular expressions that match a
single character.  Most characters, including all letters and digits,
are regular expressions that match themselves.  Any metacharacter with
special meaning may be quoted by preceding it with a backslash.
</p><p>
The period <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">.</span>”</span> matches any single character.  The caret
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^</span>”</span> and the dollar sign <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">$</span>”</span> are metacharacters
that respectively match the empty string at the beginning and end of a
line.
</p><p>
A list of characters enclosed by <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">[</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">]</span>”</span>
matches any single character in that list; if the first character of the
list is a caret <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^</span>”</span> then it matches any character
<span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> in the list.  For example, the regular
expression <span class="emphasis"><em>[0123456789]</em></span> matches any single digit.
A range of ASCII characters may be specified by giving the first and
last characters, separated by a hyphen <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span>.  Most
metacharacters lose their special meaning inside lists.  To include a
literal <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">]</span>”</span> place it first in the list.  Similarly, to
include a literal <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^</span>”</span> place it anywhere but first.
Finally, to include a literal hyphen <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span> place it last.
</p><p>
Certain named classes of characters are predefined.  Character classes
consist of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">[:</span>”</span>, a keyword denoting the class, and
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">:]</span>”</span>.  The following classes are defined by the POSIX
standard in
<a class="xref" href="#posix-regex-char-classes" title="Table 4.1. POSIX regular expression character classes">Table 4.1, “POSIX regular expression character classes”</a>
</p><div class="table"><a id="posix-regex-char-classes"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 4.1. POSIX regular expression character classes</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="POSIX regular expression character classes" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Character class</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>[:alnum:]</td><td>Alphanumeric characters</td></tr><tr><td>[:alpha:]</td><td>Alphabetic characters</td></tr><tr><td>[:blank:]</td><td>Space or tab characters</td></tr><tr><td>[:cntrl:]</td><td>Control characters</td></tr><tr><td>[:digit:]</td><td>Numeric characters</td></tr><tr><td>[:graph:]</td><td>Characters that are both printable and visible. (A space is printable, but not visible, while an <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">a</span>”</span> is both)</td></tr><tr><td>[:lower:]</td><td>Lower-case alphabetic characters</td></tr><tr><td>[:print:]</td><td>Printable characters (characters that are not control characters)</td></tr><tr><td>[:punct:]</td><td>Punctuation characters (characters that are not letter, digits, control characters, or space characters)</td></tr><tr><td>[:space:]</td><td>Space characters (such as space, tab and formfeed, to name a few)</td></tr><tr><td>[:upper:]</td><td>Upper-case alphabetic characters</td></tr><tr><td>[:xdigit:]</td><td>Characters that are hexadecimal digits</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
A character class is only valid in a regular expression inside the
brackets of a character list.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Note that the brackets in these class names are part of the symbolic
names, and must be included in addition to the brackets delimiting the
bracket list. For example, <span class="emphasis"><em>[[:digit:]]</em></span> is
equivalent to <span class="emphasis"><em>[0-9]</em></span>.
</p></div><p>
Two additional special sequences can appear in character lists.  These
apply to non-ASCII character sets, which can have single symbols (called
collating elements) that are represented with more than one character,
as well as several characters that are equivalent for collating or
sorting purposes:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">Collating Symbols</span></dt><dd><p>
A collating symbol is a multi-character collating element enclosed in
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">[.</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">.]</span>”</span>.  For example, if
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ch</span>”</span> is a collating element, then
<span class="emphasis"><em>[[.ch.]]</em></span> is a regexp that matches this collating
element, while <span class="emphasis"><em>[ch]</em></span> is a regexp that matches either
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">c</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">h</span>”</span>.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Equivalence Classes</span></dt><dd><p>
An equivalence class is a locale-specific name for a list of characters
that are equivalent. The name is enclosed in <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">[=</span>”</span> and
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=]</span>”</span>.  For example, the name <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">e</span>”</span> might be used
to represent all of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">e</span>”</span> with grave
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">è</span>”</span>), <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">e</span>”</span> with acute
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">é</span>”</span>) and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">e</span>”</span>.  In this case,
<span class="emphasis"><em>[[=e=]]</em></span> is a regexp that matches any of:
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">e</span>”</span> with grave (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">è</span>”</span>), <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">e</span>”</span>
with acute (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">é</span>”</span>) and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">e</span>”</span>.
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
A regular expression matching a single character may be followed by one
of several repetition operators described in <a class="xref" href="#regex-repeat" title="Table 4.2. Regular expression repetition operators">Table 4.2, “Regular expression repetition operators”</a>.
</p><div class="table"><a id="regex-repeat"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 4.2. Regular expression repetition operators</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Regular expression repetition operators" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Operator</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>?</td><td>The preceding item is optional and matched at most once</td></tr><tr><td>*</td><td>The preceding item will be matched zero or more times</td></tr><tr><td>+</td><td>The preceding item will be matched one or more times</td></tr><tr><td>{n}</td><td>The preceding item is matched exactly <span class="emphasis"><em>n</em></span> times</td></tr><tr><td>{n,}</td><td>The preceding item is matched <span class="emphasis"><em>n</em></span> or more times</td></tr><tr><td>{,m}</td><td>The preceding item is matched at most <span class="emphasis"><em>m</em></span> times</td></tr><tr><td>{n,m}</td><td>The preceding item is matched at least <span class="emphasis"><em>n</em></span> times, but no more than <span class="emphasis"><em>m</em></span> times</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
Two regular expressions may be concatenated; the resulting regular
expression matches any string formed by concatenating two substrings
that respectively match the concatenated subexpressions.
</p><p>
Two regular expressions may be joined by the infix operator
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">|</span>”</span>; the resulting regular expression matches any string
matching either subexpression.
</p><p>
Repetition takes precedence over concatenation, which in turn takes
precedence over alternation.  A whole subexpression may be enclosed in
parentheses to override these precedence rules.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If you compile Mutt with the included regular expression engine, the
following operators may also be used in regular expressions as described
in <a class="xref" href="#regex-gnu-ext" title="Table 4.3. GNU regular expression extensions">Table 4.3, “GNU regular expression extensions”</a>.
</p></div><div class="table"><a id="regex-gnu-ext"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 4.3. GNU regular expression extensions</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="GNU regular expression extensions" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Expression</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>\\y</td><td>Matches the empty string at either the beginning or the end of a word</td></tr><tr><td>\\B</td><td>Matches the empty string within a word</td></tr><tr><td>\\&lt;</td><td>Matches the empty string at the beginning of a word</td></tr><tr><td>\\&gt;</td><td>Matches the empty string at the end of a word</td></tr><tr><td>\\w</td><td>Matches any word-constituent character (letter, digit, or underscore)</td></tr><tr><td>\\W</td><td>Matches any character that is not word-constituent</td></tr><tr><td>\\`</td><td>Matches the empty string at the beginning of a buffer (string)</td></tr><tr><td>\\'</td><td>Matches the empty string at the end of a buffer</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
Please note however that these operators are not defined by POSIX, so
they may or may not be available in stock libraries on various systems.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="patterns"></a>3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="patterns-modifier"></a>3.1. Pattern Modifier</h3></div></div></div><p>
Many of Mutt's commands allow you to specify a pattern to match
(<code class="literal">limit</code>, <code class="literal">tag-pattern</code>,
<code class="literal">delete-pattern</code>, etc.). <a class="xref" href="#tab-patterns" title="Table 4.4. Pattern modifiers">Table 4.4, “Pattern modifiers”</a>
shows several ways to select messages.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-patterns"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 4.4. Pattern modifiers</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Pattern modifiers" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Pattern modifier</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>~A</td><td>all messages</td></tr><tr><td>~b <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages which contain <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> in the message body ***)</td></tr><tr><td>=b <span class="emphasis"><em>STRING</em></span></td><td>If IMAP is enabled, like ~b but searches for <span class="emphasis"><em>STRING</em></span> on the server, rather than downloading each message and searching it locally.</td></tr><tr><td>~B <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages which contain <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> in the whole message ***)</td></tr><tr><td>=B <span class="emphasis"><em>STRING</em></span></td><td>If IMAP is enabled, like ~B but searches for <span class="emphasis"><em>STRING</em></span> on the server, rather than downloading each message and searching it locally.</td></tr><tr><td>~c <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages carbon-copied to <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>%c <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td><td>messages carbon-copied to any member of <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>~C <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages either to: or cc: <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>%C <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td><td>messages either to: or cc: to any member of <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>~d [<span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span>]-[<span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span>]</td><td>messages with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">date-sent</span>”</span> in a Date range</td></tr><tr><td>~D</td><td>deleted messages</td></tr><tr><td>~e <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages which contains <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Sender</span>”</span> field</td></tr><tr><td>%e <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td><td>messages which contain a member of <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span> in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Sender</span>”</span> field</td></tr><tr><td>~E</td><td>expired messages</td></tr><tr><td>~F</td><td>flagged messages</td></tr><tr><td>~f <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages originating from <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>%f <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td><td>messages originating from any member of <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>~g</td><td>cryptographically signed messages</td></tr><tr><td>~G</td><td>cryptographically encrypted messages</td></tr><tr><td>~h <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages which contain <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> in the message header ***)</td></tr><tr><td>=h <span class="emphasis"><em>STRING</em></span></td><td>If IMAP is enabled, like ~h but searches for <span class="emphasis"><em>STRING</em></span> on the server, rather than downloading each message and searching it locally; <span class="emphasis"><em>STRING</em></span> must be of the form <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">header: substring</span>”</span> (see below).</td></tr><tr><td>~H <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages with a spam attribute matching <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>~i <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages which match <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Message-ID</span>”</span> field</td></tr><tr><td>~k</td><td>messages which contain PGP key material</td></tr><tr><td>~L <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages either originated or received by <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>%L <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td><td>message either originated or received by any member of <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>~l</td><td>messages addressed to a known mailing list</td></tr><tr><td>~m [<span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span>]-[<span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span>]</td><td>messages in the range <span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span> to <span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span> *)</td></tr><tr><td>~M <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages which contain a mime Content-Type matching <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> ***)</td></tr><tr><td>~n [<span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span>]-[<span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span>]</td><td>messages with a score in the range <span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span> to <span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span> *)</td></tr><tr><td>~N</td><td>new messages</td></tr><tr><td>~O</td><td>old messages</td></tr><tr><td>~p</td><td>messages addressed to you (consults <a class="link" href="#from" title="3.109. from">$from</a>, <span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span>, and local account/hostname information)</td></tr><tr><td>~P</td><td>messages from you (consults <a class="link" href="#from" title="3.109. from">$from</a>, <span class="command"><strong>alternates</strong></span>, and local account/hostname information)</td></tr><tr><td>~Q</td><td>messages which have been replied to</td></tr><tr><td>~r [<span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span>]-[<span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span>]</td><td>messages with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">date-received</span>”</span> in a Date range</td></tr><tr><td>~R</td><td>read messages</td></tr><tr><td>~s <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages having <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Subject</span>”</span> field.</td></tr><tr><td>~S</td><td>superseded messages</td></tr><tr><td>~t <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages addressed to <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td></tr><tr><td>~T</td><td>tagged messages</td></tr><tr><td>~u</td><td>messages addressed to a subscribed mailing list</td></tr><tr><td>~U</td><td>unread messages</td></tr><tr><td>~v</td><td>messages part of a collapsed thread.</td></tr><tr><td>~V</td><td>cryptographically verified messages</td></tr><tr><td>~x <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages which contain <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">References</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">In-Reply-To</span>”</span> field</td></tr><tr><td>~X [<span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span>]-[<span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span>]</td><td>messages with <span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span> to <span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span> attachments *) ***)</td></tr><tr><td>~y <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span></td><td>messages which contain <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label</span>”</span> field</td></tr><tr><td>~z [<span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span>]-[<span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span>]</td><td>messages with a size in the range <span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span> to <span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span> *) **)</td></tr><tr><td>~=</td><td>duplicated messages (see <a class="link" href="#duplicate-threads" title="3.83. duplicate_threads">$duplicate_threads</a>)</td></tr><tr><td>~$</td><td>unreferenced messages (requires threaded view)</td></tr><tr><td>~(<span class="emphasis"><em>PATTERN</em></span>)</td><td>messages in threads
containing messages matching <span class="emphasis"><em>PATTERN</em></span>, e.g. all
threads containing messages from you: ~(~P)</td></tr><tr><td>~&lt;(<span class="emphasis"><em>PATTERN</em></span>)</td><td>messages
whose immediate parent matches <span class="emphasis"><em>PATTERN</em></span>,
e.g. replies to your messages: ~&lt;(~P)</td></tr><tr><td>~&gt;(<span class="emphasis"><em>PATTERN</em></span>)</td><td>messages
having an immediate child matching <span class="emphasis"><em>PATTERN</em></span>,
e.g. messages you replied to: ~&gt;(~P)</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
Where <span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> is a <a class="link" href="#regexp" title="2. Regular Expressions">regular expression</a>, and <span class="emphasis"><em>GROUP</em></span> is an
<a class="link" href="#addrgroup" title="4. Address Groups">address group</a>.
</p><p>
*) The forms <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">&lt;[<span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span>]</span>”</span>,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">&gt;[<span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span>]</span>”</span>,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">[<span class="emphasis"><em>MIN</em></span>]-</span>”</span> and
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-[<span class="emphasis"><em>MAX</em></span>]</span>”</span> are allowed, too.
</p><p>
**) The suffixes <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">K</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">M</span>”</span> are allowed to
specify kilobyte and megabyte respectively.
</p><p>
***) These patterns read each message in, and can therefore be much
slower.  Over IMAP this will entail downloading each message.  They
can not be used for <a class="link" href="#score-command" title="27. Message Scoring">message
scoring</a>, and it is recommended to avoid using them for index
coloring.
</p><p>
Special attention has to be paid when using regular expressions inside
of patterns.  Specifically, Mutt's parser for these patterns will strip
one level of backslash (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span>), which is normally used for
quoting.  If it is your intention to use a backslash in the regular
expression, you will need to use two backslashes instead
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\\</span>”</span>).
</p><p>
You can force Mutt to treat
<span class="emphasis"><em>EXPR</em></span> as a simple string instead of a regular
expression by using = instead of ~ in the pattern name. For example,
<code class="literal">=b *.*</code> will find all messages that contain the
literal string <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*.*</span>”</span>. Simple string matches are less
powerful than regular expressions but can be considerably faster.
</p><p>
For IMAP folders, string matches <code class="literal">=b</code>,
<code class="literal">=B</code>, and <code class="literal">=h</code> will be performed on
the server instead of by fetching every message. IMAP treats
<code class="literal">=h</code> specially: it must be of the form <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">header:
substring</span>”</span> and will not partially match header names. The
substring part may be omitted if you simply wish to find messages
containing a particular header without regard to its value.
</p><p>
Patterns matching lists of addresses (notably c, C, p, P and t) match if
there is at least one match in the whole list. If you want to make sure
that all elements of that list match, you need to prefix your pattern
with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^</span>”</span>.  This example matches all mails which only has
recipients from Germany.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-recips"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 4.1. Matching all addresses in address lists</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
^~C \.de$
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
You can restrict address pattern matching to aliases that you have
defined with the "@" modifier.  This example matches messages whose
recipients are all from Germany, and who are known to your alias list.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-restrict-to-aliases"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 4.2. Matching restricted to aliases</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
^@~C \.de$
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
To match any defined alias, use a regular expression that matches any
string.  This example matches messages whose senders are known aliases.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-match-alias"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 4.3. Matching any defined alias</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
@~f .
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="simple-searches"></a>3.2. Simple Searches</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports two versions of so called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">simple
searches</span>”</span>. These are issued if the query entered for searching,
limiting and similar operations does not seem to contain a valid pattern
modifier (i.e. it does not contain one of these characters:
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%</span>”</span>). If the query is
supposed to contain one of these special characters, they must be
escaped by prepending a backslash (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">\</span>”</span>).
</p><p>
The first type is by checking whether the query string equals
a keyword case-insensitively from <a class="xref" href="#tab-simplesearch-keywords" title="Table 4.5. Simple search keywords">Table 4.5, “Simple search keywords”</a>:
If that is the case, Mutt will use the shown pattern modifier instead.
If a keyword would conflict with your search keyword, you need to turn
it into a regular expression to avoid matching the keyword table. For
example, if you want to find all messages matching <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">flag</span>”</span>
(using <a class="link" href="#simple-search" title="3.322. simple_search">$simple_search</a>)
but don't want to match flagged messages, simply search for
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">[f]lag</code></span>”</span>.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-simplesearch-keywords"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 4.5. Simple search keywords</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Simple search keywords" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Keyword</th><th>Pattern modifier</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>all</td><td>~A</td></tr><tr><td>.</td><td>~A</td></tr><tr><td>^</td><td>~A</td></tr><tr><td>del</td><td>~D</td></tr><tr><td>flag</td><td>~F</td></tr><tr><td>new</td><td>~N</td></tr><tr><td>old</td><td>~O</td></tr><tr><td>repl</td><td>~Q</td></tr><tr><td>read</td><td>~R</td></tr><tr><td>tag</td><td>~T</td></tr><tr><td>unread</td><td>~U</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
The second type of simple search is to build a complex search pattern
using <a class="link" href="#simple-search" title="3.322. simple_search">$simple_search</a> as a
template. Mutt will insert your query properly quoted and search for the
composed complex query.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="complex-patterns"></a>3.3. Nesting and Boolean Operators</h3></div></div></div><p>
Logical AND is performed by specifying more than one criterion.  For
example:
</p><pre class="screen">
~t mutt ~f elkins
</pre><p>
would select messages which contain the word <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mutt</span>”</span> in the
list of recipients <span class="emphasis"><em>and</em></span> that have the word
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">elkins</span>”</span> in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From</span>”</span> header field.
</p><p>
Mutt also recognizes the following operators to create more complex
search patterns:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
! — logical NOT operator
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
| — logical OR operator
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
() — logical grouping operator
</p></li></ul></div><p>
Here is an example illustrating a complex search pattern.  This pattern
will select all messages which do not contain <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mutt</span>”</span> in the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc</span>”</span> field and which are from
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">elkins</span>”</span>.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-pattern-bool"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 4.4. Using boolean operators in patterns</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
!(~t mutt|~c mutt) ~f elkins
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
Here is an example using white space in the regular expression (note the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">'</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">"</span>”</span> delimiters).  For this to match,
the mail's subject must match the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^Junk +From +Me$</span>”</span> and it
must be from either <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Jim +Somebody</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Ed
+SomeoneElse</span>”</span>:
</p><pre class="screen">
'~s "^Junk +From +Me$" ~f ("Jim +Somebody"|"Ed +SomeoneElse")'
</pre><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If a regular expression contains parenthesis, or a vertical bar ("|"),
you <span class="emphasis"><em>must</em></span> enclose the expression in double or single
quotes since those characters are also used to separate different parts
of Mutt's pattern language.  For example: <code class="literal">~f
"me@(mutt\.org|cs\.hmc\.edu)"</code> Without the quotes, the
parenthesis wouldn't end.  This would be separated to two OR'd patterns:
<span class="emphasis"><em>~f me@(mutt\.org</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>cs\.hmc\.edu)</em></span>. They are never what you want.
</p></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="date-patterns"></a>3.4. Searching by Date</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports two types of dates, <span class="emphasis"><em>absolute</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>relative</em></span>.
</p><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="date-absolute"></a>3.4.1. Absolute Dates</h4></div></div></div><p>
Dates <span class="emphasis"><em>must</em></span> be in DD/MM/YY format (month and year
are optional, defaulting to the current month and year) or YYYYMMDD.  An
example of a valid range of dates is:
</p><pre class="screen">
Limit to messages matching: ~d 20/1/95-31/10
Limit to messages matching: ~d 19950120-19951031
</pre><p>
If you omit the minimum (first) date, and just specify
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-DD/MM/YY</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-YYYYMMDD</span>”</span>, all messages
<span class="emphasis"><em>before</em></span> the given date will be selected.  If you omit the
maximum (second) date, and specify <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">DD/MM/YY-</span>”</span>, all messages
<span class="emphasis"><em>after</em></span> the given date will be selected.  If you
specify a single date with no dash (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span>), only messages
sent on the given date will be selected.
</p><p>
You can add error margins to absolute dates.  An error margin is a sign
(+ or -), followed by a digit, followed by one of the units in <a class="xref" href="#tab-date-units" title="Table 4.6. Date units">Table 4.6, “Date units”</a>. As a special case, you can replace the sign
by a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> character, which is equivalent to giving identical
plus and minus error margins.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-date-units"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 4.6. Date units</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Date units" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Unit</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>y</td><td>Years</td></tr><tr><td>m</td><td>Months</td></tr><tr><td>w</td><td>Weeks</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td>Days</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
Example: To select any messages two weeks around January 15, 2001, you'd
use the following pattern:
</p><pre class="screen">
Limit to messages matching: ~d 15/1/2001*2w
</pre></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="dates-relative"></a>3.4.2. Relative Dates</h4></div></div></div><p>
This type of date is relative to the current date, and may be specified
as:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
&gt;<span class="emphasis"><em>offset</em></span> for messages older than
<span class="emphasis"><em>offset</em></span> units
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
&lt;<span class="emphasis"><em>offset</em></span> for messages newer than
<span class="emphasis"><em>offset</em></span> units
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
=<span class="emphasis"><em>offset</em></span> for messages exactly
<span class="emphasis"><em>offset</em></span> units old
</p></li></ul></div><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>offset</em></span> is specified as a positive number with one
of the units from <a class="xref" href="#tab-rel-date-units" title="Table 4.7. Relative date units">Table 4.7, “Relative date units”</a>.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-rel-date-units"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 4.7. Relative date units</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Relative date units" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Unit</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>y</td><td>Years</td></tr><tr><td>m</td><td>Months</td></tr><tr><td>w</td><td>Weeks</td></tr><tr><td>d</td><td>Days</td></tr><tr><td>H</td><td>Hours</td></tr><tr><td>M</td><td>Minutes</td></tr><tr><td>S</td><td>Seconds</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
Example: to select messages less than 1 month old, you would use
</p><pre class="screen">
Limit to messages matching: ~d &lt;1m
</pre><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
All dates used when searching are relative to the
<span class="emphasis"><em>local</em></span> time zone, so unless you change the setting
of your <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> to include a
<code class="literal">%[...]</code> format, these are <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> the
dates shown in the main index.
</p></div></div></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="markmsg"></a>4. Marking Messages</h2></div></div></div><p>
There are times that it's useful to ask Mutt to "remember" which message
you're currently looking at, while you move elsewhere in your mailbox.
You can do this with the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mark-message</span>”</span> operator, which
is bound to the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~</span>”</span> key by default.  Press this key to
enter an identifier for the marked message. When you want to return to
this message, press <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">'</span>”</span> and the name that you previously
entered.
</p><p>
(Message marking is really just a shortcut for defining a macro
that returns you to the current message by searching for its
Message-ID.  You can choose a different prefix by setting the <a class="link" href="#mark-macro-prefix" title="3.172. mark_macro_prefix">$mark_macro_prefix</a> variable.)
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="tags"></a>5. Using Tags</h2></div></div></div><p>
Sometimes it is desirable to perform an operation on a group of messages
all at once rather than one at a time.  An example might be to save
messages to a mailing list to a separate folder, or to delete all
messages with a given subject.  To tag all messages matching a pattern,
use the <code class="literal">&lt;tag-pattern&gt;</code> function, which is bound
to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">shift-T</span>”</span> by default.  Or you can select individual
messages by hand using the <code class="literal">&lt;tag-message&gt;</code>
function, which is bound to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">t</span>”</span> by default.  See <a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">patterns</a> for Mutt's pattern matching syntax.
</p><p>
Once you have tagged the desired messages, you can use the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">tag-prefix</span>”</span> operator, which is the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">;</span>”</span>
(semicolon) key by default.  When the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">tag-prefix</span>”</span> operator
is used, the <span class="emphasis"><em>next</em></span> operation will be applied to all
tagged messages if that operation can be used in that manner.  If the
<a class="link" href="#auto-tag" title="3.23. auto_tag">$auto_tag</a> variable is set, the next
operation applies to the tagged messages automatically, without
requiring the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">tag-prefix</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
In <a class="link" href="#macro" title="10. Keyboard Macros"><span class="command"><strong>macro</strong></span>s</a> or <a class="link" href="#push" title="25. Adding Key Sequences to the Keyboard Buffer"><span class="command"><strong>push</strong></span></a> commands, you can use the
<code class="literal">&lt;tag-prefix-cond&gt;</code> operator.  If there are no
tagged messages, Mutt will <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">eat</span>”</span> the rest of the macro to
abort it's execution.  Mutt will stop <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">eating</span>”</span> the macro
when it encounters the <code class="literal">&lt;end-cond&gt;</code> operator;
after this operator the rest of the macro will be executed as normal.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="hooks"></a>6. Using Hooks</h2></div></div></div><p>
A <span class="emphasis"><em>hook</em></span> is a concept found in many other programs
which allows you to execute arbitrary commands before performing some
operation.  For example, you may wish to tailor your configuration based
upon which mailbox you are reading, or to whom you are sending mail.  In
the Mutt world, a <span class="emphasis"><em>hook</em></span> consists of a <a class="link" href="#regexp" title="2. Regular Expressions">regular expression</a> or <a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">pattern</a> along with a configuration
option/command.  See:

</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#account-hook" title="7. Managing Multiple Accounts"><span class="command"><strong>account-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#charset-hook" title="8. Defining Aliases for Character Sets"><span class="command"><strong>charset-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#crypt-hook" title="23. Choosing the Cryptographic Key of the Recipient"><span class="command"><strong>crypt-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing"><span class="command"><strong>fcc-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#fcc-save-hook" title="20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once"><span class="command"><strong>fcc-save-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#folder-hook" title="9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox"><span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#charset-hook" title="8. Defining Aliases for Character Sets"><span class="command"><strong>iconv-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#index-format-hook" title="24. Dynamically Changing $index_format using Patterns"><span class="command"><strong>index-format-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#mbox-hook" title="15. Using Multiple Spool Mailboxes"><span class="command"><strong>mbox-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#message-hook" title="22. Change Settings Before Formatting a Message"><span class="command"><strong>message-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#reply-hook"><span class="command"><strong>reply-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#save-hook" title="18. Specify Default Save Mailbox"><span class="command"><strong>save-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients"><span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#send2-hook"><span class="command"><strong>send2-hook</strong></span></a>
</p></li></ul></div><p>

for specific details on each type of <span class="emphasis"><em>hook</em></span> available.
Also see <a class="link" href="#compose-flow" title="18. Message Composition Flow">Message Composition Flow</a> for
an overview of the composition process.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If a hook changes configuration settings, these changes remain effective
until the end of the current Mutt session. As this is generally not
desired, a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">default</span>”</span> hook needs to be added before all
other hooks of that type to restore configuration defaults.
</p></div><div class="example"><a id="ex-default-hook"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 4.5. Specifying a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">default</span>”</span> hook</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
send-hook . 'unmy_hdr From:'
send-hook ~C'^b@b\.b$' my_hdr from: c@c.c
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
In <a class="xref" href="#ex-default-hook" title="Example 4.5. Specifying a “default” hook">Example 4.5, “Specifying a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">default</span>”</span> hook”</a>, by default the value of <a class="link" href="#from" title="3.109. from">$from</a> and <a class="link" href="#realname" title="3.275. realname">$realname</a> is not overridden. When sending
messages either To: or Cc: to <code class="literal">&lt;b@b.b&gt;</code>, the
From: header is changed to <code class="literal">&lt;c@c.c&gt;</code>.
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pattern-hook"></a>6.1. Message Matching in Hooks</h3></div></div></div><p>
Hooks that act upon messages (<span class="command"><strong>message-hook</strong></span>,
<span class="command"><strong>reply-hook</strong></span>, <span class="command"><strong>send-hook</strong></span>,
<span class="command"><strong>send2-hook</strong></span>, <span class="command"><strong>save-hook</strong></span>,
<span class="command"><strong>fcc-hook</strong></span>, <span class="command"><strong>index-format-hook</strong></span>)
are evaluated in a slightly different
manner. For the other types of hooks, a <a class="link" href="#regexp" title="2. Regular Expressions">regular
expression</a> is sufficient.  But in dealing with messages a finer
grain of control is needed for matching since for different purposes you
want to match different criteria.
</p><p>
Mutt allows the use of the <a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">search
pattern</a> language for matching messages in hook commands.  This
works in exactly the same way as it would when
<span class="emphasis"><em>limiting</em></span> or <span class="emphasis"><em>searching</em></span> the
mailbox, except that you are restricted to those operators which match
information Mutt extracts from the header of the message (i.e., from,
to, cc, date, subject, etc.).
</p><p>
For example, if you wanted to set your return address based upon sending
mail to a specific address, you could do something like:
</p><pre class="screen">
send-hook '~t ^me@cs\.hmc\.edu$' 'my_hdr From: Mutt User &lt;user@host&gt;'
</pre><p>
which would execute the given command when sending mail to
<span class="emphasis"><em>me@cs.hmc.edu</em></span>.
</p><p>
However, it is not required that you write the pattern to match using
the full searching language.  You can still specify a simple
<span class="emphasis"><em>regular expression</em></span> like the other hooks, in which
case Mutt will translate your pattern into the full language, using the
translation specified by the <a class="link" href="#default-hook" title="3.75. default_hook">$default_hook</a> variable.  The pattern is
translated at the time the hook is declared, so the value of <a class="link" href="#default-hook" title="3.75. default_hook">$default_hook</a> that is in effect at that
time will be used.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mailbox-hook"></a>6.2. Mailbox Matching in Hooks</h3></div></div></div><p>
Hooks that match against mailboxes (<span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span>,
<span class="command"><strong>mbox-hook</strong></span>) apply both <a class="link" href="#regexp" title="2. Regular Expressions">regular
expression</a> syntax as well as <a class="link" href="#shortcuts" title="10. Mailbox Shortcuts">mailbox
shortcut</a> expansion on the regexp parameter.  There is some
overlap between these, so special attention should be paid to the first
character of the regexp.
</p><pre class="screen">
# Here, ^ will expand to "the current mailbox" not "beginning of string":
folder-hook ^/home/user/Mail/bar "set sort=threads"

# If you want ^ to be interpreted as "beginning of string", one workaround
# is to enclose the regexp in parenthesis:
folder-hook (^/home/user/Mail/bar) "set sort=threads"

# This will expand to the default save folder for the alias "imap.example.com", which
# is probably not what you want:
folder-hook @imap.example.com "set sort=threads"

# A workaround is to use parenthesis or a backslash:
folder-hook (@imap.example.com) "set sort=threads"
folder-hook '\@imap.example.com' "set sort=threads"
</pre><p>
Keep in mind that mailbox shortcut expansion on the regexp parameter
takes place when the hook is initially parsed, not when the hook is
matching against a mailbox.  When Mutt starts up and is reading the
.muttrc, some mailbox shortcuts may not be usable.  For example, the
"current mailbox" shortcut, ^, will expand to an empty string because no
mailbox has been opened yet.  Mutt will issue an error for this case or
if the mailbox shortcut results in an empty regexp.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="setenv"></a>7. Managing the Environment</h2></div></div></div><p>
You can alter the environment that Mutt passes on to its child processes
using the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">setenv</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unsetenv</span>”</span> operators.
(N.B. These follow Mutt-style syntax, not shell-style!)  You can also
query current environment values by prefixing a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">?</span>”</span> character.
</p><pre class="screen">
setenv TERM vt100
setenv ORGANIZATION "The Mutt Development Team"
unsetenv DISPLAY
setenv ?LESS
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="query"></a>8. External Address Queries</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports connecting to external directory databases such as LDAP,
ph/qi, bbdb, or NIS through a wrapper script which connects to Mutt
using a simple interface.  Using the <a class="link" href="#query-command" title="3.269. query_command">$query_command</a> variable, you specify the
wrapper command to use.  For example:
</p><pre class="screen">
set query_command = "mutt_ldap_query.pl %s"
</pre><p>
The wrapper script should accept the query on the command-line.  It
should return a one line message, then each matching response on a
single line, each line containing a tab separated address then name then
some other optional information.  On error, or if there are no matching
addresses, return a non-zero exit code and a one line error message.
</p><p>
An example multiple response output:
</p><pre class="screen">
Searching database ... 20 entries ... 3 matching:
me@cs.hmc.edu           Michael Elkins  mutt dude
blong@fiction.net       Brandon Long    mutt and more
roessler@does-not-exist.org        Thomas Roessler mutt pgp
</pre><p>
There are two mechanisms for accessing the query function of Mutt.  One
is to do a query from the index menu using the
<code class="literal">&lt;query&gt;</code> function (default: Q).  This will
prompt for a query, then bring up the query menu which will list the
matching responses.  From the query menu, you can select addresses to
create aliases, or to mail.  You can tag multiple addresses to mail,
start a new query, or have a new query appended to the current
responses.
</p><p>
The other mechanism for accessing the query function is for address
completion, similar to the alias completion.  In any prompt for address
entry, you can use the <code class="literal">&lt;complete-query&gt;</code>
function (default: ^T) to run a query based on the current address you
have typed.  Like aliases, Mutt will look for what you have typed back
to the last space or comma.  If there is a single response for that
query, Mutt will expand the address in place.  If there are multiple
responses, Mutt will activate the query menu.  At the query menu, you
can select one or more addresses to be added to the prompt.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="mailbox-formats"></a>9. Mailbox Formats</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports reading and writing of four different local mailbox
formats: mbox, MMDF, MH and Maildir.  The mailbox type is auto detected,
so there is no need to use a flag for different mailbox types.  When
creating new mailboxes, Mutt uses the default specified with the <a class="link" href="#mbox-type" title="3.177. mbox_type">$mbox_type</a> variable. A short description of
the formats follows.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>mbox</em></span>.  This is a widely used mailbox format for
UNIX.  All messages are stored in a single file.  Each message has a
line of the form:
</p><pre class="screen">
From me@cs.hmc.edu Fri, 11 Apr 1997 11:44:56 PST
</pre><p>
to denote the start of a new message (this is often referred to as the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From_</span>”</span> line). The mbox format requires mailbox locking, is
prone to mailbox corruption with concurrently writing clients or
misinterpreted From_ lines. Depending on the environment, new mail
detection can be unreliable. Mbox folders are fast to open and easy to
archive.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>MMDF</em></span>.  This is a variant of the
<span class="emphasis"><em>mbox</em></span> format.  Each message is surrounded by lines
containing <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^A^A^A^A</span>”</span> (four times control-A's). The same
problems as for mbox apply (also with finding the right message
separator as four control-A's may appear in message bodies).
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>MH</em></span>. A radical departure from
<span class="emphasis"><em>mbox</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>MMDF</em></span>, a mailbox
consists of a directory and each message is stored in a separate file.
The filename indicates the message number (however, this is may not
correspond to the message number Mutt displays). Deleted messages are
renamed with a comma (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">,</span>”</span>) prepended to the filename. Mutt
detects this type of mailbox by looking for either
<code class="literal">.mh_sequences</code> or <code class="literal">.xmhcache</code> files
(needed to distinguish normal directories from MH mailboxes). MH is more
robust with concurrent clients writing the mailbox, but still may suffer
from lost flags; message corruption is less likely to occur than with
mbox/mmdf. It's usually slower to open compared to mbox/mmdf since many
small files have to be read (Mutt provides <a class="xref" href="#header-caching" title="8.1. Header Caching">Section 8.1, “Header Caching”</a> to greatly speed this process up).  Depending
on the environment, MH is not very disk-space efficient.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>Maildir</em></span>.  The newest of the mailbox formats, used
by the Qmail MTA (a replacement for sendmail).  Similar to
<span class="emphasis"><em>MH</em></span>, except that it adds three subdirectories of the
mailbox: <span class="emphasis"><em>tmp</em></span>, <span class="emphasis"><em>new</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>cur</em></span>.  Filenames for the messages are chosen in such
a way they are unique, even when two programs are writing the mailbox
over NFS, which means that no file locking is needed and corruption is
very unlikely. Maildir maybe slower to open without caching in Mutt, it
too is not very disk-space efficient depending on the environment. Since
no additional files are used for metadata (which is embedded in the
message filenames) and Maildir is locking-free, it's easy to sync across
different machines using file-level synchronization tools.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="shortcuts"></a>10. Mailbox Shortcuts</h2></div></div></div><p>
There are a number of built in shortcuts which refer to specific
mailboxes.  These shortcuts can be used anywhere you are prompted for a
file or mailbox path or in path-related configuration variables. Note
that these only work at the beginning of a string.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-mailbox-shortcuts"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 4.8. Mailbox shortcuts</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Mailbox shortcuts" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Shortcut</th><th>Refers to...</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">!</code></td><td>your <a class="link" href="#spoolfile" title="3.365. spoolfile">$spoolfile</a> (incoming) mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&gt;</code></td><td>your <a class="link" href="#mbox" title="3.176. mbox">$mbox</a> file</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;</code></td><td>your <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> file</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">^</code></td><td>the current mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">-</code> or <code class="literal">!!</code></td><td>the file you've last visited</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">~</code></td><td>your home directory</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">=</code> or <code class="literal">+</code></td><td>your <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a> directory</td></tr><tr><td><span class="emphasis"><em>@alias</em></span></td><td>to the <a class="link" href="#save-hook" title="18. Specify Default Save Mailbox">default save folder</a> as determined by the address of the alias</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
For example, to store a copy of outgoing messages in the folder they
were composed in, a <a class="link" href="#folder-hook" title="9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox"><span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span></a> can be used
to set <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a>:
</p><pre class="screen">
  folder-hook . 'set record=^'
</pre><p>
Note: the current mailbox shortcut,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">^</code></span>”</span>, has no value in some cases.  No
mailbox is opened when Mutt is invoked to send an email from the
command-line.  In interactive mode, Mutt reads the muttrc before
opening the mailbox, so immediate expansion won't work as expected
either.  This can be an issue when trying to directly assign to <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a>, but also affects the <a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a> mailbox, which is expanded
immediately too.  The folder-hook example above works because the
command is executed later, when the folder-hook fires.
</p><p>
Note: the <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> shortcut
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">&lt;</code></span>”</span> is substituted without any
regard to multiple mailboxes and <a class="link" href="#fcc-delimiter" title="3.95. fcc_delimiter">$fcc_delimiter</a>.  If you use multiple
Fcc mailboxes, and also want to use the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">&lt;</code></span>”</span> mailbox shortcut, it might be
better to set <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> to the primary
mailbox and use a <a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a> to set all
mailboxes during message composition.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="using-lists"></a>11. Handling Mailing Lists</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt has a few configuration options that make dealing with large
amounts of mail easier.  The first thing you must do is to let Mutt know
what addresses you consider to be mailing lists (technically this does
not have to be a mailing list, but that is what it is most often used
for), and what lists you are subscribed to.  This is accomplished
through the use of the <a class="link" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists"><span class="command"><strong>lists</strong></span>
and <span class="command"><strong>subscribe</strong></span></a> commands in your
<code class="literal">.muttrc</code>.  Alternatively or additionally, you can set
<a class="link" href="#auto-subscribe" title="3.22. auto_subscribe">$auto_subscribe</a> to automatically
subscribe addresses found in a <code class="literal">List-Post</code> header.
</p><p>
Now that Mutt knows what your mailing lists are, it can do several
things, the first of which is the ability to show the name of a list
through which you received a message (i.e., of a subscribed list) in the
<span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> menu display.  This is useful to distinguish
between personal and list mail in the same mailbox.  In the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> variable, the expando
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%L</span>”</span> will print the string <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To &lt;list&gt;</span>”</span>
when <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">list</span>”</span> appears in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To</span>”</span> field, and
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc &lt;list&gt;</span>”</span> when it appears in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc</span>”</span>
field (otherwise it prints the name of the author).
</p><p>
Often times the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc</span>”</span> fields in
mailing list messages tend to get quite large. Most people do not bother
to remove the author of the message they reply to from the list,
resulting in two or more copies being sent to that person.  The
<code class="literal">&lt;list-reply&gt;</code> function, which by default is
bound to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">L</span>”</span> in the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> menu and
<span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span>, helps reduce the clutter by only replying to
the known mailing list addresses instead of all recipients (except as
specified by <code class="literal">Mail-Followup-To</code>, see below).
</p><p>
Mutt also supports the <code class="literal">Mail-Followup-To</code> header.  When
you send a message to a list of recipients which includes one or several
known mailing lists, and if the <a class="link" href="#followup-to" title="3.99. followup_to">$followup_to</a> option is set, Mutt will
generate a Mail-Followup-To header.  If any of the recipients are
subscribed mailing lists, this header will contain all the recipients
to whom you send this message, but not your address. This indicates that
group-replies or list-replies (also known as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">followups</span>”</span>)
to this message should only be sent to the original recipients of the
message, and not separately to you - you'll receive your copy through
one of the mailing lists you are subscribed to.  If none of the
recipients are subscribed mailing lists, the header will also contain
your address, ensuring you receive a copy of replies.
</p><p>
Conversely, when group-replying or list-replying to a message which has
a <code class="literal">Mail-Followup-To</code> header, Mutt will respect this
header if the <a class="link" href="#honor-followup-to" title="3.128. honor_followup_to">$honor_followup_to</a> configuration
variable is set.  Using <a class="link" href="#list-reply">list-reply</a>
will in this case also make sure that the reply goes to the mailing
list, even if it's not specified in the list of recipients in the
<code class="literal">Mail-Followup-To</code>.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
When header editing is enabled, you can create a
<code class="literal">Mail-Followup-To</code> header manually.  Mutt will only
auto-generate this header if it doesn't exist when you send the message.
</p></div><p>
The other method some mailing list admins use is to generate a
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Reply-To</span>”</span> field which points back to the mailing list
address rather than the author of the message.  This can create problems
when trying to reply directly to the author in private, since most mail
clients will automatically reply to the address given in the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Reply-To</span>”</span> field.  Mutt uses the <a class="link" href="#reply-to" title="3.283. reply_to">$reply_to</a> variable to help decide which
address to use.  If set to <span class="emphasis"><em>ask-yes</em></span> or
<span class="emphasis"><em>ask-no</em></span>, you will be prompted as to whether or not
you would like to use the address given in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Reply-To</span>”</span>
field, or reply directly to the address given in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From</span>”</span>
field.  When set to <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span>, the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Reply-To</span>”</span> field will be used when present.
</p><p>
While looking at an email message from a mailing list in the index or
pager, you can interact with the list server in the ways defined by RFC
2369, provided the email message specifies how to do so.  Invoke the
<a class="link" href="#tab-list-bindings" title="Table 9.16. Default List Menu Bindings"> list menu</a> (bound to "ESC
L" by default) to see what options are available for a given
message. Common options are:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>Post to the list</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Contact the list owner</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Subscribe to the list</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Unsubscribe from the list</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Get help from the list server</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Get list archive information</p></li></ul></div><p>
Note that many list servers only specify some of these options.
</p><p>
The <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span> header field can be used to further identify
mailing lists or list subject matter (or just to annotate messages
individually).  The <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>
variable's <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%y</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%Y</span>”</span> expandos can be used
to expand <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span> fields in the index, and Mutt's
pattern-matcher can match regular expressions to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span>
fields with the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~y</span>”</span> selector.  <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span> is
not a standard message header field, but it can easily be inserted by
procmail and other mail filtering agents.
</p><p>
You can change or delete the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span> field within
Mutt using the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">edit-label</span>”</span> command, bound to the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">y</span>”</span> key by default.  This works for tagged messages, too.
While in the edit-label function, pressing the &lt;complete&gt;
binding (TAB, by default) will perform completion against all labels
currently in use.
</p><p>
Lastly, Mutt has the ability to <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">sort</a> the
mailbox into <a class="link" href="#threads" title="5.3. Threaded Mode">threads</a>.  A thread is a
group of messages which all relate to the same subject.  This is usually
organized into a tree-like structure where a message and all of its
replies are represented graphically.  If you've ever used a threaded
news client, this is the same concept.  It makes dealing with large
volume mailing lists easier because you can easily delete uninteresting
threads and quickly find topics of value.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="display-munging"></a>12. Display Munging</h2></div></div></div><p>
Working within the confines of a console or terminal window, it is
often useful to be able to modify certain information elements in a
non-destructive way -- to change how they display, without changing
the stored value of the information itself.  This is especially so of
message subjects, which may often be polluted with extraneous metadata
that either is reproduced elsewhere, or is of secondary interest.
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">subjectrx</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>replacement</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">unsubjectrx</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
 }</p></div><p>
<code class="literal">subjectrx</code> specifies a regular expression
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">pattern</span>”</span> which, if detected in a message subject, causes
the subject to be replaced with the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">replacement</span>”</span> value.
The replacement is subject to substitutions in the same way as for the
<a class="link" href="#spam" title="28. Spam Detection">spam</a> command: <code class="literal">%L</code> for the text
to the left of the match, <code class="literal">%R</code> for text to the right of the
match, and <code class="literal">%1</code> for the first subgroup in the match (etc).
If you simply want to erase the match, set it to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%L%R</span>”</span>.
Any number of <code class="literal">subjectrx</code> commands may coexist.
</p><p>
Note this well: the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">replacement</span>”</span> value replaces the
entire subject, not just the match!
</p><p>
<code class="literal">unsubjectrx</code> removes a given subjectrx from the
substitution list.  If <code class="literal">*</code> is used as the pattern,
all substitutions will be removed.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-subjectrx"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 4.6. Subject Munging</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
# Erase [rt #12345] tags from Request Tracker (RT) e-mails
subjectrx '\[rt #[0-9]+\] *' '%L%R'

# Servicedesk is another RT that sends more complex subjects.
# Keep the ticket number.
subjectrx '\[servicedesk #([0-9]+)\] ([^.]+)\.([^.]+) - (new|open|pending|update) - ' '%L[#%1] %R'

# Strip out annoying [listname] prefixes in subjects
subjectrx '\[[^]]*\]:? *' '%L%R'
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="new-mail"></a>13. New Mail Detection</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports setups with multiple folders, allowing all of them to be
monitored for new mail (see <a class="xref" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail">Section 16, “Monitoring Incoming Mail”</a> for details).
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="new-mail-formats"></a>13.1. How New Mail Detection Works</h3></div></div></div><p>
For Mbox and Mmdf folders, new mail is detected by comparing access
and/or modification times of files: Mutt assumes a folder has new mail
if it wasn't accessed after it was last modified. Utilities like
<code class="literal">biff</code> or <code class="literal">frm</code> or any other program
which accesses the mailbox might cause Mutt to never detect new mail for
that mailbox if they do not properly reset the access time. Other
possible causes of Mutt not detecting new mail in these folders are
backup tools (updating access times) or filesystems mounted without
access time update support (for Linux systems, see the
<code class="literal">relatime</code> option).
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Contrary to older Mutt releases, it now maintains the new mail status of
a folder by properly resetting the access time if the folder contains at
least one message which is neither read, nor deleted, nor marked as old.
</p></div><p>
In cases where new mail detection for Mbox or Mmdf folders appears to be
unreliable, the <a class="link" href="#check-mbox-size" title="3.42. check_mbox_size">$check_mbox_size</a>
option can be used to make Mutt track and consult file sizes for new
mail detection instead which won't work for size-neutral changes.
</p><p>
New mail for Maildir is assumed if there is one message in the
<code class="literal">new/</code> subdirectory which is not marked deleted (see
<a class="link" href="#maildir-trash" title="3.170. maildir_trash">$maildir_trash</a>). For MH folders, a
mailbox is considered having new mail if there's at least one message in
the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unseen</span>”</span> sequence as specified by <a class="link" href="#mh-seq-unseen" title="3.190. mh_seq_unseen">$mh_seq_unseen</a>.
</p><p>
Mutt does not poll POP3 folders for new mail, it only periodically
checks the currently opened folder (if it's a POP3 folder).
</p><p>
For IMAP, by default Mutt uses recent message counts provided by the
server to detect new mail. If the <a class="link" href="#imap-idle" title="3.141. imap_idle">$imap_idle</a> option is set, it'll use the IMAP
IDLE extension if advertised by the server.
</p><p>
The <a class="link" href="#mail-check-recent" title="3.164. mail_check_recent">$mail_check_recent</a>
option changes whether Mutt will notify you of new mail in an
already visited mailbox.  When set (the default) it will only notify
you of new mail received since the last time you opened the mailbox.
When unset, Mutt will notify you of any new mail in the mailbox.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="new-mail-polling"></a>13.2. Polling For New Mail</h3></div></div></div><p>
When in the index menu and being idle (also see <a class="link" href="#timeout" title="3.393. timeout">$timeout</a>), Mutt periodically checks for new
mail in all folders which have been configured via the
<span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span> command (excepting those specified with
the <code class="literal">-nopoll</code> flag).  The interval depends on the
folder type: for local/IMAP folders it consults <a class="link" href="#mail-check" title="3.163. mail_check">$mail_check</a> and <a class="link" href="#pop-checkinterval" title="3.249. pop_checkinterval">$pop_checkinterval</a> for POP folders.
</p><p>
Outside the index menu the directory browser supports checking for new
mail using the <code class="literal">&lt;check-new&gt;</code> function which is
unbound by default. Pressing TAB will bring up a menu showing the files
specified by the <span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span> command, and indicate
which contain new messages. Mutt will automatically enter this mode when
invoked from the command line with the <code class="literal">-y</code> option,
or from the index/pager via the <code class="literal">&lt;browse-mailboxes&gt;</code>
function.
</p><p>
For the pager, index and directory browser menus, Mutt contains the
<code class="literal">&lt;buffy-list&gt;</code> function (bound to
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">.</span>”</span> by default) which will print a list of folders with new
mail in the command line at the bottom of the screen.
</p><p>
For the index, by default Mutt displays the number of mailboxes with new
mail in the status bar, please refer to the <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a> variable for details.
</p><p>
When changing folders, Mutt fills the prompt with the first folder from
the mailboxes list containing new mail (if any), pressing
<code class="literal">&lt;Space&gt;</code> will cycle through folders with new
mail.  The (by default unbound) function
<code class="literal">&lt;next-unread-mailbox&gt;</code> in the index can be used
to immediately open the next folder with unread mail (if any).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="new-mail-monitoring"></a>13.3. Monitoring New Mail</h3></div></div></div><p>
When the <span class="emphasis"><em>Inotify</em></span> mechanism for monitoring of
files is supported (Linux only) and not disabled at compilation time,
Mutt immediately notifies about new mail for all folders configured
via the <a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail"><span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span></a>
command (excepting those specified with the <code class="literal">-nopoll</code>
flag).  Dependent on <a class="link" href="#mailbox-formats" title="9. Mailbox Formats">mailbox
format</a> also added <span class="emphasis"><em>old</em></span> mails are tracked
(not for Maildir).
</p><p>
No configuration variables are available.  Trace output is given when
debugging is enabled via <a class="link" href="#tab-commandline-options" title="Table 9.1. Command line options">command
line option</a> <code class="literal">-d3</code>.  The lower level 2 only shows
errors, the higher level 5 all including raw Inotify events.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Getting events about new mail is limited to the capabilities of the
underlying mechanism.  <span class="emphasis"><em>Inotify</em></span> only reports local
changes, i. e. new mail notification works for mails delivered by an
agent on the same machine as Mutt, but not when delivered remotely on
a network file system as NFS.  Also the monitoring handles might fail
in rare conditions, so you better don't completely rely on this
feature.
</p></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="calc-mailbox-counts"></a>13.4. Calculating Mailbox Message Counts</h3></div></div></div><p>
If <a class="link" href="#mail-check-stats" title="3.165. mail_check_stats">$mail_check_stats</a> is set,
Mutt will periodically calculate the unread, flagged, and total
message counts for each mailbox watched by the
<span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span> command.  (Note: IMAP mailboxes only support
unread and total counts).  This calculation takes place at the same
time as new mail polling, but is controlled by a separate timer: <a class="link" href="#mail-check-stats-interval" title="3.166. mail_check_stats_interval">$mail_check_stats_interval</a>.
</p><p>
The sidebar can display these message counts.  See <a class="link" href="#sidebar-format" title="3.309. sidebar_format">$sidebar_format</a>.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="editing-threads"></a>14. Editing Threads</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt has the ability to dynamically restructure threads that are broken
either by misconfigured software or bad behavior from some
correspondents. This allows to clean your mailboxes from these
annoyances which make it hard to follow a discussion.
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="link-threads"></a>14.1. Linking Threads</h3></div></div></div><p>
Some mailers tend to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">forget</span>”</span> to correctly set the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">In-Reply-To:</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">References:</span>”</span> headers when
replying to a message. This results in broken discussions because Mutt
has not enough information to guess the correct threading.  You can fix
this by tagging the reply, then moving to the parent message and using
the <code class="literal">&lt;link-threads&gt;</code> function (bound to &amp; by
default). The reply will then be connected to this parent message.
</p><p>
You can also connect multiple children at once, tagging them and using
the <code class="literal">&lt;tag-prefix&gt;</code> command (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">;</span>”</span>) or
the <a class="link" href="#auto-tag" title="3.23. auto_tag">$auto_tag</a> option.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="break-threads"></a>14.2. Breaking Threads</h3></div></div></div><p>
On mailing lists, some people are in the bad habit of starting a new
discussion by hitting <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reply</span>”</span> to any message from the list
and changing the subject to a totally unrelated one.  You can fix such
threads by using the <code class="literal">&lt;break-thread&gt;</code> function
(bound by default to #), which will turn the subthread starting from the
current message into a whole different thread.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="dsn"></a>15. Delivery Status Notification (DSN) Support</h2></div></div></div><p>
RFC1894 defines a set of MIME content types for relaying information
about the status of electronic mail messages.  These can be thought of
as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">return receipts.</span>”</span>
</p><p>
To support DSN, there are two variables. <a class="link" href="#dsn-notify" title="3.81. dsn_notify">$dsn_notify</a> is used to request receipts for
different results (such as failed message, message delivered, etc.).
<a class="link" href="#dsn-return" title="3.82. dsn_return">$dsn_return</a> requests how much of your
message should be returned with the receipt (headers or full message).
</p><p>
When using <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a> for mail delivery,
you need to use either Berkeley sendmail 8.8.x (or greater) a MTA
supporting DSN command line options compatible to Sendmail: The -N and
-R options can be used by the mail client to make requests as to what
type of status messages should be returned. Please consider your MTA
documentation whether DSN is supported.
</p><p>
For SMTP delivery using <a class="link" href="#smtp-url" title="3.356. smtp_url">$smtp_url</a>, it
depends on the capabilities announced by the server whether Mutt will
attempt to request DSN or not.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="urlview"></a>16. Start a WWW Browser on URLs</h2></div></div></div><p>
If a message contains URLs, it is efficient to get a menu with all the
URLs and start a WWW browser on one of them.  This functionality is
provided by the external urlview program which can be retrieved at
<a class="ulink" href="https://github.com/sigpipe/urlview" target="_top">https://github.com/sigpipe/urlview</a>
and the configuration commands:
</p><pre class="screen">
macro index \cb |urlview\n
macro pager \cb |urlview\n
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="echo"></a>17. Echoing Text</h2></div></div></div><p>
Usage:
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">echo</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>message</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
You can print messages to the message window using the "echo" command.
This might be useful after a macro finishes executing.  After printing
the message, echo will pause for the number of seconds specified by
<a class="link" href="#sleep-time" title="3.327. sleep_time">$sleep_time</a>.
</p><pre class="screen">
echo "Sourcing muttrc file"

unset confirmappend
macro index ,a "&lt;save-message&gt;=archive&lt;enter&gt;&lt;enter-command&gt;echo 'Saved to archive'&lt;enter&gt;"
</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="compose-flow"></a>18. Message Composition Flow</h2></div></div></div><p>
    This is a brief overview of the steps Mutt takes during message
    composition.  It also shows the order and timing of hook execution.
  </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
        Reply envelope settings.  <a class="link" href="#reverse-name" title="3.288. reverse_name">$reverse_name</a> processing.  To,
        Cc, Subject, References header defaults.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a> processing for To, Cc,
        Bcc, Subject headers.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Prompts for To, Cc, Bcc, Subject headers.
        See <a class="link" href="#askcc" title="3.12. askcc">$askcc</a>,
        <a class="link" href="#askbcc" title="3.11. askbcc">$askbcc</a>,
        <a class="link" href="#fast-reply" title="3.91. fast_reply">$fast_reply</a>.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        From header setting.  Note: this is so <a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients">send-hook</a>s below can match ~P, but
        From is re-set further below in case a send-hook changes the
        value.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#reply-hook">reply-hook</a>
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients">send-hook</a>
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        From header setting.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a> processing for From,
        Reply-To, Message-ID and user-defined headers.  The To, Cc,
        Bcc, Subject, and Return-Path headers are ignored at this
        stage.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Message body and signature generation.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#send2-hook">send2-hook</a>
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#realname" title="3.275. realname">$realname</a> part of From header setting.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a> invocation for the
        message.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#send2-hook">send2-hook</a>
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Cryptographic settings.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a>.  Fcc setting.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#compose-menu" title="1.4. The Compose Menu">Compose menu</a>.  Note: <a class="link" href="#send2-hook">send2-hook</a> is evaluated each time
        the headers are changed.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#send-multipart-alternative" title="3.301. send_multipart_alternative">$send_multipart_alternative</a>
        generation.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Message encryption and signing.  Key selection.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Fcc saving if <a class="link" href="#fcc-before-send" title="3.93. fcc_before_send">$fcc_before_send</a> is set.  (Note the
        variable documentation for caveats of Fcc'ing before sending.)
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Message sending.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Fcc saving if <a class="link" href="#fcc-before-send" title="3.93. fcc_before_send">$fcc_before_send</a> is unset
        (the default).  Note: prior to version 1.12, the Fcc was saved
        before sending the message.  It is now by default saved
        afterwards, but if the saving fails, the user is prompted.
      </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="batch-compose-flow"></a>19. Batch Composition Flow</h2></div></div></div><p>
    In batch mode, Mutt performs less steps than interactive mode.
    Encryption and Signing are not supported.
  </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a> processing for To, Cc,
        Bcc headers.  (Subject is not processed.)
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        From header setting.  Note: this is so <a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients">send-hook</a>s below can match ~P, but
        From is re-set further below in case a send-hook changes the
        value.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients">send-hook</a>
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        From header setting.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a> processing for From,
        Reply-To, Message-ID and user-defined headers.  The To, Cc,
        Bcc, Subject, and Return-Path headers are ignored at this
        stage.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Message body is copied from stdin.  <a class="link" href="#signature" title="3.321. signature">$signature</a> is not appended in batch
        mode.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#send2-hook">send2-hook</a>
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#realname" title="3.275. realname">$realname</a> part of From header setting.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a>.  Fcc setting.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        <a class="link" href="#send-multipart-alternative" title="3.301. send_multipart_alternative">$send_multipart_alternative</a>
        generation.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Fcc saving if <a class="link" href="#fcc-before-send" title="3.93. fcc_before_send">$fcc_before_send</a> is set.  (Note the
        variable documentation for caveats of Fcc'ing before sending.)
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Message sending.
      </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
        Fcc saving if <a class="link" href="#fcc-before-send" title="3.93. fcc_before_send">$fcc_before_send</a> is unset
        (the default).  Note: prior to version 1.12, the Fcc was saved
        before sending the message.  It is now by default saved
        afterwards, but if the saving fails, the user is prompted.
      </p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="muttlisp"></a>20. Using MuttLisp (EXPERIMENTAL)</h2></div></div></div><p>
    MuttLisp is a Lisp-like enhancement for the Mutt configuration
    file.  It is currently experimental, meaning new releases may
    change or break syntax.  MuttLisp is not a real language, and is
    not meant to be an alternative to macros.  The features are
    purposely minimal, with the actual work still being done by Mutt
    <a class="link" href="#commands" title="2. Configuration Commands">commands</a>.
  </p><p>
    There are two ways to invoke MuttLisp: via the
    <code class="literal">run</code> command, or interpolated as a command
    argument.
  </p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="run"></a>20.1. Running a command generated by MuttLisp</h3></div></div></div><p>
      Usage:
    </p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">run</code>   
        <em class="replaceable"><code>MuttLisp</code></em>
       </p></div><p>
      The <code class="literal">run</code> command evaluates the MuttLisp argument.
      The output of the MuttLisp is then executed as a
      Mutt command, as if it were typed in the muttrc instead.
    </p><pre class="screen">
run (concat "set my_name = '" \
      (or $ENV_NAME "Test User") "'")

  ==&gt; generates and runs the line:
      set my_name = 'Test User'
</pre><p>
      This will set the Mutt <a class="link" href="#set-myvar" title="29.3. User-Defined Variables">User-Defined Variable</a>
      <code class="literal">$my_name</code> to either the environment variable $ENV_NAME, if
      defined, or else "Test User".
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-interpolate"></a>20.2. Interpolating MuttLisp in a Command Argument</h3></div></div></div><p>
      The second way of running is directly as a command argument.
      An unquoted parenthesis expression will be evaluated, and the result
      substituted as the argument.
    </p><p>
      To avoid breaking existing configurations, this is disabled by
      default.  It can be enabled by setting <a class="link" href="#muttlisp-inline-eval" title="3.199. muttlisp_inline_eval">$muttlisp_inline_eval</a>.  Before doing so, you should
      review your Mutt configuration to ensure you don't have any bare
      parenthesis expressions elsewhere, such as the regexp parameter
      of a <a class="link" href="#folder-hook" title="9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox">folder-hook</a>.  These can typically be
      surrounded by single or double-quotes to prevent being evaluated as
      MuttLisp.
    </p><pre class="screen">
set my_name = (or $ENV_NAME "Test User")
</pre><p>
      The result of the MuttLisp is directly assigned as the argument.
      It isn't reinterpreted, so there is no need for the outer
      quotes.  This is in contrast with the <a class="link" href="#run" title="20.1. Running a command generated by MuttLisp">run</a> command, where the output is
      reinterpreted by the muttrc parser.
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-syntax"></a>20.3. MuttLisp Syntax</h3></div></div></div><p>
      MuttLisp was inspired by Lisp, and so follows the same basic
      syntax.  All statements are surrounded by parenthesis.  The first argument
      inside the parenthesis is a function to invoke.  The remaining arguments
      are passed as parameters.
    </p><p>
      The arguments to functions are read and evaluated using <a class="link" href="#muttrc-syntax" title="3. Syntax of Initialization Files">muttrc syntax</a>.  This means Mutt
      variables or environment variables can be passed directly, or
      interpolated inside a double-quoted string.
    </p><p>
      Although the arguments to a function are evaluated, the result
      of the function call is not.
    </p><pre class="screen">
echo (concat '$' 'spoolfile')
  ==&gt; $spoolfile
</pre><p>
      MuttLisp has no types - everything is stored and evaluated as
      a string, just as with the muttrc.  True is defined as a non-empty
      string, and false as the empty string.
    </p><p>
      The muttrc is evaluated line by line, and MuttLisp is similarly
      constrained.  Input can be continued on more than one line by
      placing a backslash at the end of the line.
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-funcs"></a>20.4. MuttLisp Functions</h3></div></div></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-concat"></a>20.4.1. concat</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Combines all arguments into a single string.
      </p><pre class="screen">
echo (concat one two three)
  ==&gt; onetwothree
</pre></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-quote"></a>20.4.2. quote</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Prevents interpretation of the list.  Note that the list must
        still obey MuttLisp syntax: single quotes, double quotes,
        backticks, and parenthesis are still parsed prior to
        <code class="literal">quote</code> running and must be matching.
      </p><pre class="screen">
echo (quote one two three)
  ==&gt; one two three

echo (quote $spoolfile)
  ==&gt; $spoolfile

echo (quote (one two three))
  ==&gt; (one two three)
</pre></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-equal"></a>20.4.3. equal</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Performs a case-sensitive comparison of each argument.  Stops evaluating
        arguments when it finds the first one that is not equal.  Returns
        "t" if they are all equal, and the empty string if not.
      </p><pre class="screen">
echo (equal one one)
  ==&gt; "t"

echo (equal one `echo one`)
  ==&gt; "t"

echo (equal one one two `echo three`)
  ==&gt; ""
  note: `echo three` does not execute.

echo (equal "one two" `echo one two`)
  ==&gt; ""
  note: backticks generate two arguments "one" and "two"

echo (equal "one two" "`echo one two`")
  ==&gt; "t"
  note: backticks inside double quotes generates a single argument: "one two"
</pre></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-not"></a>20.4.4. not</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Accepts a single argument only.
        Returns "t" if the argument evaluates to the empty string.
        Otherwise returns the empty string.
      </p><pre class="screen">
echo (not one)
  ==&gt; ""

echo (not "")
  ==&gt; "t"

echo (not (equal one two))
  ==&gt; "t"
</pre></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-and"></a>20.4.5. and</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Returns the first argument that evaluates to the empty string.
        Otherwise returns the last argument, or "t" if there are no arguments.
      </p><pre class="screen">
echo (and one two)
  ==&gt; "two"

echo (and "" two `echo three`)
  ==&gt; ""
  note: `echo three` does not execute.

echo (and)
  ==&gt; "t"
</pre></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-or"></a>20.4.6. or</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Returns the first argument that evaluates to a non-empty string.  Otherwise
        returns the empty string.
      </p><pre class="screen">
echo (or one two)
  ==&gt; "one"

echo (or "" two `echo three`)
  ==&gt; "two"
  note: `echo three` does not execute.

echo (or)
  ==&gt; ""
</pre></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-if"></a>20.4.7. if</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Requires 2 or 3 arguments.  The first is a conditional.  If it
        evaluates to "true" (a non-empty string), the second argument is
        evaluated and returned.  Otherwise the third argument is evaluated
        and returned.
      </p><pre class="screen">
echo (if a one two)
  ==&gt; "one"

echo (if "" one two)
  ==&gt; "two"

set spoolfile = "/var/mail/user"
echo (if (equal $spoolfile "/var/mail/user") yes no)
  ==&gt; "yes"
</pre><p>
        Note that boolean configuration variables evaluate to the strings
        "yes" or "no".  You can see the value of other
        kinds of configuration variables using the
        <a class="link" href="#echo" title="17. Echoing Text">echo</a> command.
      </p><pre class="screen">
unset allow_ansi
echo $allow_ansi
  ===&gt; "no"

# the correct way to test a boolean:
echo (if (equal $allow_ansi "yes") "set" "unset")
  ===&gt; "unset"

# the incorrect way to test a boolean:
echo (if $allow_ansi "set" "unset")
  ===&gt; "set"
</pre></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-examples"></a>20.5. Examples</h3></div></div></div><p>
      It's important to remember that function arguments are
      evaluated, but the result is not.  Also, the result of an
      interpolated command argument is used directly, and needs no
      quoting.
    </p><pre class="screen">
# A three-way toggle of $index_format:

set muttlisp_inline_eval
set my_idx1 = "one"
set my_idx2 = "two"
set my_idx3 = "three"
set index_format = $my_idx1

macro index i '&lt;enter-command&gt;set index_format =  \
  (or                                             \
    (if (equal $index_format $my_idx1) $my_idx2)  \
    (if (equal $index_format $my_idx2) $my_idx3)  \
    $my_idx1) \
&lt;enter&gt;'
</pre><p>
      The output of the run command is re-evaluated by the muttrc
      parser.  So it's important to pay more attention to quoting
      issues when generating the command string below.
    </p><pre class="screen">
# Conditionally set up background editing in tmux or GNU Screen:

run \
  (if (or $STY $TMUX)                             \
    (concat                                       \
      'set background_edit;'                      \
      'set editor = "bgedit-screen-tmux.sh vim"') \
    (concat                                       \
      'unset background_edit;'                    \
      'set editor = "vim"'))
</pre><p>
    Because backticks are evaluated by MuttLisp too, we need to use
    the run command below and pay close attention to quoting.
  </p><pre class="screen">
# Use a Mutt variable inside backticks.

set spoolfile = "/var/mail/testuser"

# This will generate and then run the command string:
#   set my_var = "`~/bin/myscript.sh /var/mail/testuser`"
run                                       \
  (concat                                 \
     'set my_var = "`~/bin/myscript.sh '  \
     $spoolfile                           \
     '`"')
</pre></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="misc-topics"></a>21. Miscellany</h2></div></div></div><p>
This section documents various features that fit nowhere else.
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">
Address normalization
</span></dt><dd><p>
Mutt normalizes all e-mail addresses to the simplest form possible. If
an address contains a realname, the form <span class="emphasis"><em>Joe User
&lt;joe@example.com&gt;</em></span> is used and the pure e-mail address
without angle brackets otherwise, i.e. just
<span class="emphasis"><em>joe@example.com</em></span>.
</p><p>
This normalization affects all headers Mutt generates including aliases.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">
Initial folder selection
</span></dt><dd><p>
The folder Mutt opens at startup is determined as follows: the folder
specified in the <code class="literal">$MAIL</code> environment variable if
present. Otherwise, the value of <code class="literal">$MAILDIR</code> is taken
into account. If that isn't present either, Mutt takes the user's
mailbox in the mailspool as determined at compile-time (which may also
reside in the home directory). The <a class="link" href="#spoolfile" title="3.365. spoolfile">$spoolfile</a> setting overrides this
selection. Highest priority has the mailbox given with the
<code class="literal">-f</code> command line option.
</p></dd></dl></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="mimesupport"></a>Chapter 5. Mutt's MIME Support</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#using-mime">1. Using MIME in Mutt</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mime-overview">1.1. MIME Overview</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mime-pager">1.2. Viewing MIME Messages in the Pager</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#attach-menu">1.3. The Attachment Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compose-menu">1.4. The Compose Menu</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mime-types">2. MIME Type Configuration with <code class="literal">mime.types</code></a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mailcap">3. MIME Viewer Configuration with Mailcap</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mailcap-basics">3.1. The Basics of the Mailcap File</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#secure-mailcap">3.2. Secure Use of Mailcap</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#advanced-mailcap">3.3. Advanced Mailcap Usage</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mailcap-example">3.4. Example Mailcap Files</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#auto-view">4. MIME Autoview</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#alternative-order">5. MIME Multipart/Alternative</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#attachments">6. Attachment Searching and Counting</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#mime-lookup">7. MIME Lookup</a></span></dt></dl></div><p>
Quite a bit of effort has been made to make Mutt the premier text-mode
MIME MUA.  Every effort has been made to provide the functionality that
the discerning MIME user requires, and the conformance to the standards
wherever possible.  When configuring Mutt for MIME, there are two extra
types of configuration files which Mutt uses.  One is the
<code class="literal">mime.types</code> file, which contains the mapping of file
extensions to IANA MIME types.  The other is the
<code class="literal">mailcap</code> file, which specifies the external commands
to use for handling specific MIME types.
</p><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="using-mime"></a>1. Using MIME in Mutt</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mime-overview"></a>1.1. MIME Overview</h3></div></div></div><p>
MIME is short for <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension</span>”</span>
and describes mechanisms to internationalize and structure mail
messages. Before the introduction of MIME, messages had a single text
part and were limited to us-ascii header and content. With MIME,
messages can have attachments (and even attachments which itself have
attachments and thus form a tree structure), nearly arbitrary characters
can be used for sender names, recipients and subjects.
</p><p>
Besides the handling of non-ascii characters in message headers, to Mutt
the most important aspect of MIME are so-called MIME types. These are
constructed using a <span class="emphasis"><em>major</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>minor</em></span> type separated by a forward slash.  These
specify details about the content that follows. Based upon these, Mutt
decides how to handle this part. The most popular major type is
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">text</code></span>”</span> with minor types for plain text,
HTML and various other formats. Major types also exist for images,
audio, video and of course general application data (e.g. to separate
cryptographically signed data with a signature, send office documents,
and in general arbitrary binary data). There's also the
<code class="literal">multipart</code> major type which represents the root of a
subtree of MIME parts. A list of supported MIME types can be found in
<a class="xref" href="#supported-mime-types" title="Table 5.1. Supported MIME types">Table 5.1, “Supported MIME types”</a>.
</p><p>
MIME also defines a set of encoding schemes for transporting MIME
content over the network: <code class="literal">7bit</code>,
<code class="literal">8bit</code>, <code class="literal">quoted-printable</code>,
<code class="literal">base64</code> and <code class="literal">binary</code>. There're some
rules when to choose what for encoding headers and/or body (if needed),
and Mutt will in general make a good choice.
</p><p>
Mutt does most of MIME encoding/decoding behind the scenes to form
messages conforming to MIME on the sending side. On reception, it can be
flexibly configured as to how what MIME structure is displayed (and if
it's displayed): these decisions are based on the content's MIME type.
There are three areas/menus in dealing with MIME: the pager (while
viewing a message), the attachment menu and the compose menu.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mime-pager"></a>1.2. Viewing MIME Messages in the Pager</h3></div></div></div><p>
When you select a message from the index and view it in the pager, Mutt
decodes as much of a message as possible to a text representation.  Mutt
internally supports a number of MIME types, including the
<code class="literal">text</code> major type (with all minor types), the
<code class="literal">message/rfc822</code> (mail messages) type and some
<code class="literal">multipart</code> types. In addition, it recognizes a variety
of PGP MIME types, including PGP/MIME and
<code class="literal">application/pgp</code>.
</p><p>
Mutt will denote attachments with a couple lines describing them.
These lines are of the form:
</p><pre class="screen">
[-- Attachment #1: Description --]
[-- Type: text/plain, Encoding: 7bit, Size: 10000 --]
</pre><p>
Where the <span class="emphasis"><em>Description</em></span> is the description or
filename given for the attachment, and the <span class="emphasis"><em>Encoding</em></span>
is one of the already mentioned content encodings.
</p><p>
If Mutt cannot deal with a MIME type, it will display a message like:
</p><pre class="screen">
[-- image/gif is unsupported (use 'v' to view this part) --]
</pre></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attach-menu"></a>1.3. The Attachment Menu</h3></div></div></div><p>
The default binding for <code class="literal">&lt;view-attachments&gt;</code> is
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">v</span>”</span>, which displays the attachment menu for a message.  The
attachment menu displays a list of the attachments in a message.  From
the attachment menu, you can save, print, pipe, delete, and view
attachments.  You can apply these operations to a group of attachments
at once, by tagging the attachments and by using the
<code class="literal">&lt;tag-prefix&gt;</code> operator.  You can also reply to
the current message from this menu, and only the current attachment (or
the attachments tagged) will be quoted in your reply.  You can view
attachments as text, or view them using the mailcap viewer definition
(the mailcap mechanism is explained later in detail).
</p><p>
Finally, you can apply the usual message-related functions (like <a class="link" href="#resend-message"><code class="literal">&lt;resend-message&gt;</code></a>,
and the <code class="literal">&lt;reply&gt;</code> and
<code class="literal">&lt;forward&gt;</code> functions) to attachments of type
<code class="literal">message/rfc822</code>.
</p><p>
See table <a class="xref" href="#tab-attachment-bindings" title="Table 9.7. Default Attachment Menu Bindings">Table 9.7, “Default Attachment Menu Bindings”</a> for all available
functions.
</p><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="attach-viewers"></a>1.3.1. Viewing Attachments</h4></div></div></div><p>
There are four(!) ways of viewing attachments, so the functions
deserve some extra explanation.
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">
      <code class="literal">&lt;view-mailcap&gt;</code>
      (default keybinding: m)
    </span></dt><dd><p>
        This will use the first matching mailcap entry.
      </p><p>
        If no matching mailcap entries are found, it will abort with an
        error message.
      </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
      <code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code>
      (default keybinding: &lt;Enter&gt;)
    </span></dt><dd><p>
        Mutt will display internally supported MIME types (see <a class="xref" href="#mime-pager" title="1.2. Viewing MIME Messages in the Pager">Section 1.2, “Viewing MIME Messages in the Pager”</a>) in the pager.  This will respect
        <a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview">auto_view</a> settings, to determine
        whether to use a <code class="literal">copiousoutput</code> mailcap entry or
        just directly display the attachment.
      </p><p>
        Other MIME types will use the first matching mailcap entry.
      </p><p>
        If no matching mailcap entries are found, the attachment will
        be displayed in the pager as raw text.
      </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
      <code class="literal">&lt;view-pager&gt;</code>
    </span></dt><dd><p>
        Mutt will use the first matching
        <code class="literal">copiousoutput</code> mailcap entry to display the
        attachment in the pager (regardless of <a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview">auto_view</a> settings).
      </p><p>
        If no matching mailcap entries are found, the attachment will
        be displayed in the pager as raw text.
      </p></dd><dt><span class="term">
      <code class="literal">&lt;view-text&gt;</code>
      (default keybinding: T)
    </span></dt><dd><p>
        The attachment will always be displayed in the pager as raw
        text.
      </p></dd></dl></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="compose-menu"></a>1.4. The Compose Menu</h3></div></div></div><p>
The compose menu is the menu you see before you send a message.  It
allows you to edit the recipient list, the subject, and other aspects of
your message.  It also contains a list of the attachments of your
message, including the main body.  From this menu, you can print, copy,
filter, pipe, edit, compose, review, and rename an attachment or a list
of tagged attachments.  You can also modifying the attachment
information, notably the type, encoding and description.
</p><p>
Attachments appear as follows by default:
</p><pre class="screen">
- 1 [text/plain, 7bit, 1K]           /tmp/mutt-euler-8082-0 &lt;no description&gt;
  2 [applica/x-gunzip, base64, 422K] ~/src/mutt-0.85.tar.gz &lt;no description&gt;
</pre><p>
The <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span> denotes that Mutt will delete the file after
sending (or postponing, or canceling) the message.  It can be toggled
with the <code class="literal">&lt;toggle-unlink&gt;</code> command (default: u).
The next field is the MIME content-type, and can be changed with the
<code class="literal">&lt;edit-type&gt;</code> command (default: ^T).  The next
field is the encoding for the attachment, which allows a binary message
to be encoded for transmission on 7bit links.  It can be changed with
the <code class="literal">&lt;edit-encoding&gt;</code> command (default: ^E).  The
next field is the size of the attachment, rounded to kilobytes or
megabytes.  The next field is the filename, which can be changed with
the <code class="literal">&lt;rename-file&gt;</code> command (default: R).  The
final field is the description of the attachment, and can be changed
with the <code class="literal">&lt;edit-description&gt;</code> command (default:
d). See <a class="link" href="#attach-format" title="3.15. attach_format">$attach_format</a> for a full
list of available expandos to format this display to your needs.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="mime-types"></a>2. MIME Type Configuration with <code class="literal">mime.types</code></h2></div></div></div><p>
To get most out of MIME, it's important that a MIME part's content type
matches the content as closely as possible so that the recipient's
client can automatically select the right viewer for the
content. However, there's no reliable way for Mutt to know how to detect
every possible file type. Instead, it uses a simple plain text mapping
file that specifies what file extension corresponds to what MIME
type. This file is called <code class="literal">mime.types</code>.
</p><p>
When you add an attachment to your mail message, Mutt searches your
personal <code class="literal">mime.types</code> file at
<code class="literal">$HOME/.mime.types</code>, and then the system
<code class="literal">mime.types</code> file at
<code class="literal">/usr/local/share/mutt/mime.types</code> or
<code class="literal">/etc/mime.types</code>
</p><p>
Each line starts with the full MIME type, followed by a space and
space-separated list of file extensions. For example you could use:
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-mime-types"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 5.1. <code class="literal">mime.types</code></strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
application/postscript          ps eps
application/pgp                 pgp
audio/x-aiff                    aif aifc aiff
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
A sample <code class="literal">mime.types</code> file comes with the Mutt
distribution, and should contain most of the MIME types you are likely
to use.
</p><p>
If Mutt can not determine the MIME type by the extension of the file you
attach, it will run the command specified in
<a class="link" href="#mime-type-query-command" title="3.194. mime_type_query_command">$mime_type_query_command</a>.
If that command is not specified, Mutt will look at the file.  If the file
is free of binary information, Mutt will assume that the file is plain text,
and mark it as <code class="literal">text/plain</code>.  If the file contains binary
information, then Mutt will mark it as
<code class="literal">application/octet-stream</code>.  You can change the MIME
type that Mutt assigns to an attachment by using the
<code class="literal">&lt;edit-type&gt;</code> command from the compose menu
(default: ^T), see <a class="xref" href="#supported-mime-types" title="Table 5.1. Supported MIME types">Table 5.1, “Supported MIME types”</a> for supported
major types. Mutt recognizes all of these if the appropriate entry is
found in the <code class="literal">mime.types</code> file. Non-recognized mime
types should only be used if the recipient of the message is likely to
be expecting such attachments.
</p><div class="table"><a id="supported-mime-types"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 5.1. Supported MIME types</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Supported MIME types" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>MIME major type</th><th>Standard</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">application</code></td><td>yes</td><td>General application data</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">audio</code></td><td>yes</td><td>Audio data</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">image</code></td><td>yes</td><td>Image data</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">message</code></td><td>yes</td><td>Mail messages, message status information</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">model</code></td><td>yes</td><td>VRML and other modeling data</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">multipart</code></td><td>yes</td><td>Container for other MIME parts</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">text</code></td><td>yes</td><td>Text data</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">video</code></td><td>yes</td><td>Video data</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">chemical</code></td><td>no</td><td>Mostly molecular data</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
MIME types are not arbitrary, they need to be assigned by <a class="ulink" href="http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/" target="_top">IANA</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="mailcap"></a>3. MIME Viewer Configuration with Mailcap</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports RFC 1524 MIME Configuration, in particular the Unix
specific format specified in Appendix A of RFC 1524.  This file format
is commonly referred to as the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mailcap</span>”</span> format.  Many MIME
compliant programs utilize the mailcap format, allowing you to specify
handling for all MIME types in one place for all programs.  Programs
known to use this format include Firefox, lynx and metamail.
</p><p>
In order to handle various MIME types that Mutt doesn't have built-in
support for, it parses a series of external configuration files to find
an external handler. The default search string for these files is a
colon delimited list containing the following files:
</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p><code class="literal">$HOME/.mailcap</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><code class="literal">$PKGDATADIR/mailcap</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><code class="literal">$SYSCONFDIR/mailcap</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><code class="literal">/etc/mailcap</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><code class="literal">/usr/etc/mailcap</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><code class="literal">/usr/local/etc/mailcap</code></p></li></ol></div><p>
where <code class="literal">$HOME</code> is your home directory. The
<code class="literal">$PKGDATADIR</code> and the <code class="literal">$SYSCONFDIR</code>
directories depend on where Mutt is installed: the former is the default
for shared data, the latter for system configuration files.
</p><p>
The default search path can be obtained by running the following
command:
</p><pre class="screen">
mutt -nF /dev/null -Q mailcap_path
</pre><p>
In particular, the metamail distribution will install a mailcap file,
usually as <code class="literal">/usr/local/etc/mailcap</code>, which contains
some baseline entries.
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mailcap-basics"></a>3.1. The Basics of the Mailcap File</h3></div></div></div><p>
A mailcap file consists of a series of lines which are comments, blank,
or definitions.
</p><p>
A comment line consists of a # character followed by anything you want.
</p><p>
A blank line is blank.
</p><p>
A definition line consists of a content type, a view command, and any
number of optional fields.  Each field of a definition line is divided
by a semicolon <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">;</span>”</span> character.
</p><p>
The content type is specified in the MIME standard
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">type/subtype</span>”</span> notation.  For example,
<code class="literal">text/plain</code>, <code class="literal">text/html</code>,
<code class="literal">image/gif</code>, etc.  In addition, the mailcap format
includes two formats for wildcards, one using the special
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> subtype, the other is the implicit wild, where you only
include the major type.  For example, <code class="literal">image/*</code>, or
<code class="literal">video</code> will match all image types and video types,
respectively.
</p><p>
The view command is a Unix command for viewing the type specified. There
are two different types of commands supported. The default is to send
the body of the MIME message to the command on stdin. You can change
this behavior by using <code class="literal">%s</code> as a parameter to your view
command.  This will cause Mutt to save the body of the MIME message to a
temporary file, and then call the view command with the
<code class="literal">%s</code> replaced by the name of the temporary file. In
both cases, Mutt will turn over the terminal to the view program until
the program quits, at which time Mutt will remove the temporary file if
it exists. This means that mailcap does <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> work
out of the box with programs which detach themselves from the terminal
right after starting, like <code class="literal">open</code> on Mac OS X. In order
to nevertheless use these programs with mailcap, you probably need
custom shell scripts.
</p><p>
So, in the simplest form, you can send a <code class="literal">text/plain</code>
message to the external pager more on standard input:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/plain; more
</pre><p>
Or, you could send the message as a file:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/plain; more %s
</pre><p>
Perhaps you would like to use lynx to interactively view a
<code class="literal">text/html</code> message:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html; lynx %s
</pre><p>
In this case, lynx does not support viewing a file from standard input,
so you must use the <code class="literal">%s</code> syntax.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>Some older versions of lynx contain a bug where they will
check the mailcap file for a viewer for <code class="literal">text/html</code>.
They will find the line which calls lynx, and run it.  This causes lynx
to continuously spawn itself to view the object.</em></span>
</p></div><p>
On the other hand, maybe you don't want to use lynx interactively, you
just want to have it convert the <code class="literal">text/html</code> to
<code class="literal">text/plain</code>, then you can use:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html; lynx -dump %s | more
</pre><p>
Perhaps you wish to use lynx to view <code class="literal">text/html</code> files,
and a pager on all other text formats, then you would use the following:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html; lynx %s
text/*; more
</pre></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="secure-mailcap"></a>3.2. Secure Use of Mailcap</h3></div></div></div><p>
The interpretation of shell meta-characters embedded in MIME parameters
can lead to security problems in general.  Mutt tries to quote
parameters in expansion of <code class="literal">%s</code> syntaxes properly, and
avoids risky characters by substituting them, see the <a class="link" href="#mailcap-sanitize" title="3.168. mailcap_sanitize">$mailcap_sanitize</a> variable.
</p><p>
Although Mutt's procedures to invoke programs with mailcap seem to be
safe, there are other applications parsing mailcap, maybe taking less
care of it.  Therefore you should pay attention to the following rules:
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>Keep the %-expandos away from shell quoting.</em></span> Don't
quote them with single or double quotes.  Mutt does this for you, the
right way, as should any other program which interprets mailcap.  Don't
put them into backtick expansions.  Be highly careful with evil
statements, and avoid them if possible at all.  Trying to fix broken
behavior with quotes introduces new leaks — there is no
alternative to correct quoting in the first place.
</p><p>
If you have to use the %-expandos' values in context where you need
quoting or backtick expansions, put that value into a shell variable and
reference the shell variable where necessary, as in the following
example (using <code class="literal">$charset</code> inside the backtick expansion
is safe, since it is not itself subject to any further expansion):
</p><pre class="screen">
text/test-mailcap-bug; cat %s; copiousoutput; test=charset=%{charset} \
        &amp;&amp; test "`echo $charset | tr '[A-Z]' '[a-z]'`" != iso-8859-1
</pre></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="advanced-mailcap"></a>3.3. Advanced Mailcap Usage</h3></div></div></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="optional-mailcap-fields"></a>3.3.1. Optional Fields</h4></div></div></div><p>
In addition to the required content-type and view command fields, you
can add semi-colon <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">;</span>”</span> separated fields to set flags and
other options.  Mutt recognizes the following optional fields:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">copiousoutput</span></dt><dd><p>
This flag tells Mutt that the command passes possibly large amounts of
text on standard output.  This causes Mutt to invoke a pager (either
the internal pager or the external pager defined by the pager variable)
on the output of the view command.  Without this flag, Mutt assumes that
the command is interactive.  One could use this to replace the pipe to
<code class="literal">more</code> in the <code class="literal">lynx -dump</code> example in
the Basic section:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html; lynx -dump %s ; copiousoutput
</pre><p>
This will cause lynx to format the <code class="literal">text/html</code> output
as <code class="literal">text/plain</code> and Mutt will use your standard pager
to display the results.
</p><p>
Mutt will set the <code class="literal">COLUMNS</code> environment variable to
the width of the pager.  Some programs make use of this environment
variable automatically.  Others provide a command line argument that
can use this to set the output width:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html; lynx -dump -width ${COLUMNS:-80} %s; copiousoutput
</pre><p>
Note that when using the built-in pager, <span class="emphasis"><em>only</em></span>
entries with this flag will be considered a handler for a MIME type
— all other entries will be ignored.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">needsterminal</span></dt><dd><p>
Mutt uses this flag when viewing attachments with <a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview"><span class="command"><strong>auto_view</strong></span></a>, in order to
decide whether it should honor the setting of the <a class="link" href="#wait-key" title="3.411. wait_key">$wait_key</a> variable or not.  When an attachment
is viewed using an interactive program, and the corresponding mailcap
entry has a <span class="emphasis"><em>needsterminal</em></span> flag, Mutt will use <a class="link" href="#wait-key" title="3.411. wait_key">$wait_key</a> and the exit status of the program
to decide if it will ask you to press a key after the external program
has exited.  In all other situations it will not prompt you for a key.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">compose=&lt;command&gt;</span></dt><dd><p>
This flag specifies the command to use to create a new attachment of a
specific MIME type.  Mutt supports this from the compose menu.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">composetyped=&lt;command&gt;</span></dt><dd><p>
This flag specifies the command to use to create a new attachment of a
specific MIME type.  This command differs from the compose command in
that Mutt will expect standard MIME headers on the data.  This can be
used to specify parameters, filename, description, etc. for a new
attachment.  Mutt supports this from the compose menu.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">print=&lt;command&gt;</span></dt><dd><p>
This flag specifies the command to use to print a specific MIME type.
Mutt supports this from the attachment and compose menus.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">edit=&lt;command&gt;</span></dt><dd><p>
This flag specifies the command to use to edit a specific MIME type.
Mutt supports this from the compose menu, and also uses it to compose
new attachments.  Mutt will default to the defined <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a> for text attachments.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">nametemplate=&lt;template&gt;</span></dt><dd><p>
This field specifies the format for the file denoted by
<code class="literal">%s</code> in the command fields.  Certain programs will
require a certain file extension, for instance, to correctly view a
file.  For instance, lynx will only interpret a file as
<code class="literal">text/html</code> if the file ends in
<code class="literal">.html</code>.  So, you would specify lynx as a
<code class="literal">text/html</code> viewer with a line in the mailcap file
like:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html; lynx %s; nametemplate=%s.html
</pre></dd><dt><span class="term">test=&lt;command&gt;</span></dt><dd><p>
This field specifies a command to run to test whether this mailcap entry
should be used.  The command is defined with the command expansion rules
defined in the next section.  If the command returns 0, then the test
passed, and Mutt uses this entry.  If the command returns non-zero, then
the test failed, and Mutt continues searching for the right entry.  Note
that the content-type must match before Mutt performs the test.  For
example:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html; firefox -remote 'openURL(%s)' ; test=RunningX
text/html; lynx %s
</pre><p>
In this example, Mutt will run the program <code class="literal">RunningX</code>
which will return 0 if the X Window manager is running, and non-zero if
it isn't.  If <code class="literal">RunningX</code> returns 0, then Mutt will run
firefox to display the <code class="literal">text/html</code> object.  If RunningX
doesn't return 0, then Mutt will go on to the next entry and use lynx to
display the <code class="literal">text/html</code> object.
</p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="mailcap-search-order"></a>3.3.2. Search Order</h4></div></div></div><p>
When searching for an entry in the mailcap file, Mutt will search for
the most useful entry for its purpose.  For instance, if you are
attempting to print an <code class="literal">image/gif</code>, and you have the
following entries in your mailcap file, Mutt will search for an entry
with the print command:
</p><pre class="screen">
image/*;        xv %s
image/gif;      ; print= anytopnm %s | pnmtops | lpr; \
                nametemplate=%s.gif
</pre><p>
Mutt will skip the <code class="literal">image/*</code> entry and use the
<code class="literal">image/gif</code> entry with the print command.
</p><p>
In addition, you can use this with <a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview"><span class="command"><strong>auto_view</strong></span></a> to denote two
commands for viewing an attachment, one to be viewed automatically, the
other to be viewed interactively from the attachment menu using the
<code class="literal">&lt;view-mailcap&gt;</code> function (bound to
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">m</span>”</span> by default). In addition, you can then use the test
feature to determine which viewer to use interactively depending on your
environment.
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html;      firefox -remote 'openURL(%s)' ; test=RunningX
text/html;      lynx %s; nametemplate=%s.html
text/html;      lynx -dump %s; nametemplate=%s.html; copiousoutput
</pre><p>
For <a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview"><span class="command"><strong>auto_view</strong></span></a>, Mutt
will choose the third entry because of the
<code class="literal">copiousoutput</code> tag.  For interactive viewing, Mutt
will run the program <code class="literal">RunningX</code> to determine if it
should use the first entry.  If the program returns non-zero, Mutt will
use the second entry for interactive viewing. The last entry is for
inline display in the pager and the
<code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code> function in the attachment menu.
</p><p>
Entries with the <code class="literal">copiousoutput</code> tag should always be
specified as the last one per type. For non-interactive use, the last
entry will then actually be the first matching one with the tag set.
For non-interactive use, only <code class="literal">copiousoutput</code>-tagged
entries are considered. For interactive use, Mutt ignores this tag and
treats all entries equally. Therefore, if not specified last, all
following entries without this tag would never be considered for
<code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code> because the
<code class="literal">copiousoutput</code> before them matched already.
</p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="mailcap-command-expansion"></a>3.3.3. Command Expansion</h4></div></div></div><p>
The various commands defined in the mailcap files are passed to the
<code class="literal">/bin/sh</code> shell using the <code class="literal">system(3)</code>
function.  Before the command is passed to <code class="literal">/bin/sh
-c</code>, it is parsed to expand various special parameters with
information from Mutt.  The keywords Mutt expands are:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term">%s</span></dt><dd><p>
As seen in the basic mailcap section, this variable is expanded to a
filename specified by the calling program.  This file contains the body
of the message to view/print/edit or where the composing program should
place the results of composition.  In addition, the use of this keyword
causes Mutt to not pass the body of the message to the view/print/edit
program on stdin.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">%t</span></dt><dd><p>
Mutt will expand <code class="literal">%t</code> to the text representation of the
content type of the message in the same form as the first parameter of
the mailcap definition line, i.e. <code class="literal">text/html</code> or
<code class="literal">image/gif</code>.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">%{&lt;parameter&gt;}</span></dt><dd><p>
Mutt will expand this to the value of the specified parameter from the
Content-Type: line of the mail message.  For instance, if your mail
message contains:
</p><pre class="screen">
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
</pre><p>
then Mutt will expand <code class="literal">%{charset}</code> to
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">iso-8859-1</span>”</span>.  The default metamail mailcap file uses this
feature to test the charset to spawn an xterm using the right charset to
view the message.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">\%</span></dt><dd><p>
This will be replaced by a literal <code class="literal">%</code>.
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
Mutt does not currently support the <code class="literal">%F</code> and
<code class="literal">%n</code> keywords specified in RFC 1524.  The main purpose
of these parameters is for multipart messages, which is handled
internally by Mutt.
</p></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mailcap-example"></a>3.4. Example Mailcap Files</h3></div></div></div><p>
This mailcap file is fairly simple and standard:
</p><pre class="screen">
<span class="comment"># I'm always running X :)</span>
video/*;        xanim %s &gt; /dev/null
image/*;        xv %s &gt; /dev/null

<span class="comment"># I'm always running firefox (if my computer had more memory, maybe)</span>
text/html;      firefox -remote 'openURL(%s)'
</pre><p>
This mailcap file shows quite a number of examples:
</p><pre class="screen">
<span class="comment"># Use xanim to view all videos   Xanim produces a header on startup,
# send that to /dev/null so I don't see it</span>
video/*;        xanim %s &gt; /dev/null

<span class="comment"># Send html to a running firefox by remote</span>
text/html;      firefox -remote 'openURL(%s)'; test=RunningFirefox

<span class="comment"># If I'm not running firefox but I am running X, start firefox on the
# object</span>
text/html;      firefox %s; test=RunningX

<span class="comment"># Else use lynx to view it as text</span>
text/html;      lynx %s

<span class="comment"># This version would convert the text/html to text/plain</span>
text/html;      lynx -dump %s; copiousoutput

<span class="comment"># I use enscript to print text in two columns to a page</span>
text/*;         more %s; print=enscript -2Gr %s

<span class="comment"># Firefox adds a flag to tell itself to view jpegs internally</span>
image/jpeg;xv %s; x-mozilla-flags=internal

<span class="comment"># Use xv to view images if I'm running X</span>
<span class="comment"># In addition, this uses the \ to extend the line and set my editor</span>
<span class="comment"># for images</span>
image/*;xv %s; test=RunningX; \
        edit=xpaint %s

<span class="comment"># Convert images to text using the netpbm tools</span>
image/*;  (anytopnm %s | pnmscale -xysize 80 46 | ppmtopgm | pgmtopbm |
pbmtoascii -1x2 ) 2&gt;&amp;1 ; copiousoutput

<span class="comment"># Send excel spreadsheets to my NT box</span>
application/ms-excel; open.pl %s
</pre></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="auto-view"></a>4. MIME Autoview</h2></div></div></div><p>
Usage:
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">auto_view</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unauto_view</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
In addition to explicitly telling Mutt to view an attachment with the
MIME viewer defined in the mailcap file from the attachments menu, Mutt
has support for automatically viewing MIME attachments while in the
pager.
</p><p>
For this to work, you must define a viewer in the mailcap file which
uses the <code class="literal">copiousoutput</code> option to denote that it is
non-interactive.  Usually, you also use the entry to convert the
attachment to a text representation which you can view in the pager.
</p><p>
You then use the <span class="command"><strong>auto_view</strong></span> configuration command to
list the content-types that you wish to view automatically.  For
instance, if you set it to:
</p><pre class="screen">
auto_view text/html application/x-gunzip \
  application/postscript image/gif application/x-tar-gz
</pre><p>
...Mutt would try to find corresponding entries for rendering
attachments of these types as text. A corresponding mailcap could look
like:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html;      lynx -dump %s; copiousoutput; nametemplate=%s.html
image/*;        anytopnm %s | pnmscale -xsize 80 -ysize 50 | ppmtopgm | \
                pgmtopbm | pbmtoascii ; copiousoutput
application/x-gunzip;   gzcat; copiousoutput
application/x-tar-gz; gunzip -c %s | tar -tf - ; copiousoutput
application/postscript; ps2ascii %s; copiousoutput
</pre><p>
<span class="command"><strong>unauto_view</strong></span> can be used to remove previous entries
from the <span class="command"><strong>auto_view</strong></span> list.  This can be used with <a class="link" href="#message-hook" title="22. Change Settings Before Formatting a Message"><span class="command"><strong>message-hook</strong></span></a> to
autoview messages based on size, etc.
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><span class="command"><strong>unauto_view</strong></span> *</span>”</span> will remove all previous
entries.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="alternative-order"></a>5. MIME Multipart/Alternative</h2></div></div></div><p>
The <code class="literal">multipart/alternative</code> container type only has
child MIME parts which represent the same content in an alternative
way. This is often used to send HTML messages which contain an
alternative plain text representation.
</p><p>
Mutt has some heuristics for determining which attachment of a
<code class="literal">multipart/alternative</code> type to display:
</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>
First, Mutt will check the <span class="command"><strong>alternative_order</strong></span> list to
determine if one of the available types is preferred.  It consists of a
number of MIME types in order, including support for implicit and
explicit wildcards. For example:
</p><pre class="screen">
alternative_order text/enriched text/plain text \
  application/postscript image/*
</pre></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Next, Mutt will check if any of the types have a defined <a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview"><span class="command"><strong>auto_view</strong></span></a>, and use that.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Failing that, Mutt will look first for
<code class="literal">text/enriched</code>, followed by
<code class="literal">text/plain</code>, and finally
<code class="literal">text/html</code>.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
As a last attempt, Mutt will look for any type it knows how to handle.
</p></li></ol></div><p>
To remove a MIME type from the <span class="command"><strong>alternative_order</strong></span>
list, use the <span class="command"><strong>unalternative_order</strong></span> command.
</p><p>
Generating <code class="literal">multipart/alternative</code> content is supported
via the
<a class="link" href="#send-multipart-alternative" title="3.301. send_multipart_alternative">$send_multipart_alternative</a>
quadoption and
<a class="link" href="#send-multipart-alternative-filter" title="3.302. send_multipart_alternative_filter">$send_multipart_alternative_filter</a>
filter script.  The composed <code class="literal">text/plain</code> content
will be piped to the filter script's stdin.  The output from the
filter script should be the generated mime type of the content, a
blank line, and the content.  For example:
</p><pre class="screen">
text/html

&lt;html&gt;
&lt;body&gt;
Content in html format
&lt;/body&gt;
&lt;/html&gt;
</pre><p>
A preview of the alternative can be viewed in the compose menu using
the functions <code class="literal">&lt;view-alt&gt;</code> (bound to
"v"), <code class="literal">&lt;view-alt-text&gt;</code> (bound to
"Esc v"), <code class="literal">&lt;view-alt-mailcap&gt;</code> (bound
to "V"), and <code class="literal">&lt;view-alt-pager&gt;</code>
(unbound).  See <a class="xref" href="#attach-viewers" title="1.3.1. Viewing Attachments">Section 1.3.1, “Viewing Attachments”</a> for a discussion of
the differences between these viewing functions.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="attachments"></a>6. Attachment Searching and Counting</h2></div></div></div><p>
If you ever lose track of attachments in your mailboxes, Mutt's
attachment-counting and -searching support might be for you.  You can
make your message index display the number of qualifying attachments in
each message, or search for messages by attachment count.  You also can
configure what kinds of attachments qualify for this feature with the
<span class="command"><strong>attachments</strong></span> and <span class="command"><strong>unattachments</strong></span>
commands.
</p><p>
In order to provide this information, Mutt needs to fully MIME-parse all
messages affected first. This can slow down operation especially for
remote mail folders such as IMAP because all messages have to be
downloaded first regardless whether the user really wants to view them
or not though using <a class="xref" href="#body-caching" title="8.2. Body Caching">Section 8.2, “Body Caching”</a> usually means to
download the message just once.
</p><p>
By default, Mutt will not search inside
<code class="literal">multipart/alternative</code> containers.  This can be
changed via the <a class="link" href="#count-alternatives" title="3.54. count_alternatives">$count_alternatives</a> configuration
variable.
</p><p>
The syntax is:
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">attachments</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>{ + | - }disposition</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mime-type</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">unattachments</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>{ + | - }disposition</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mime-type</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command">attachments</code>   
<code class="option">?</code>
 <br /><code class="command">unattachments</code>   
<code class="option">*</code>
 </p></div><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>disposition</em></span> is the attachment's Content-Disposition
type — either <code class="literal">inline</code> or
<code class="literal">attachment</code>.  You can abbreviate this to
<code class="literal">I</code> or <code class="literal">A</code>.
</p><p>
The first part of a message or multipart group, if inline, is counted
separately than other inline parts.  Specify <code class="literal">root</code>
or <code class="literal">R</code> for <span class="emphasis"><em>disposition</em></span> to count
these as attachments.  If this first part is of type
multipart/alternative, note that its top-level inline parts are also
counted via <code class="literal">root</code> <span class="emphasis"><em>disposition</em></span>
(if <a class="link" href="#count-alternatives" title="3.54. count_alternatives">$count_alternatives</a> is
set).
</p><p>
Disposition is prefixed by either a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span> symbol or a
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span> symbol.  If it's a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span>, you're saying that
you want to allow this disposition and MIME type to qualify.  If it's a
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span>, you're saying that this disposition and MIME type is
an exception to previous <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span> rules.  There are examples
below of how this is useful.
</p><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>mime-type</em></span> is the MIME type of the attachment you
want the command to affect.  A MIME type is always of the format
<code class="literal">major/minor</code>, where <code class="literal">major</code> describes
the broad category of document you're looking at, and
<code class="literal">minor</code> describes the specific type within that
category.  The major part of mime-type must be literal text (or the
special token <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">*</code></span>”</span>), but the minor part
may be a regular expression.  (Therefore,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">*/.*</code></span>”</span> matches any MIME type.)
</p><p>
The MIME types you give to the <span class="command"><strong>attachments</strong></span> directive
are a kind of pattern.  When you use the <span class="command"><strong>attachments</strong></span>
directive, the patterns you specify are added to a list.  When you use
<span class="command"><strong>unattachments</strong></span>, the pattern is removed from the list.
The patterns are not expanded and matched to specific MIME types at this
time — they're just text in a list.  They're only matched when
actually evaluating a message.
</p><p>
Some examples might help to illustrate.  The examples that are not
commented out define the default configuration of the lists.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-attach-count"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 5.2. Attachment counting</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
<span class="comment">
# Removing a pattern from a list removes that pattern literally. It
# does not remove any type matching the pattern.
#
#  attachments   +A */.*
#  attachments   +A image/jpeg
#  unattachments +A */.*
#
# This leaves "attached" image/jpeg files on the allowed attachments
# list. It does not remove all items, as you might expect, because the
# second */.* is not a matching expression at this time.
#
# Remember: "unattachments" only undoes what "attachments" has done!
# It does not trigger any matching on actual messages.

# Qualify any MIME part with an "attachment" disposition, EXCEPT for
# text/x-vcard and application/pgp parts. (PGP parts are already known
# to mutt, and can be searched for with ~g, ~G, and ~k.)
#
# I've added x-pkcs7 to this, since it functions (for S/MIME)
# analogously to PGP signature attachments. S/MIME isn't supported
# in a stock mutt build, but we can still treat it specially here.
#
</span>
attachments   +A */.*
attachments   -A text/x-vcard application/pgp.*
attachments   -A application/x-pkcs7-.*

<span class="comment">
# Discount all MIME parts with an "inline" disposition, unless they're
# text/plain. (Why inline a text/plain part unless it's external to the
# message flow?)
</span>
attachments   +I text/plain

<span class="comment">
# These two lines make Mutt qualify MIME containers.  (So, for example,
# a message/rfc822 forward will count as an attachment.)  The first
# line is unnecessary if you already have "attach-allow */.*", of
# course.  These are off by default!  The MIME elements contained
# within a message/* or multipart/* are still examined, even if the
# containers themselves don't qualify.

#attachments  +A message/.* multipart/.*
#attachments  +I message/.* multipart/.*
</span>

<span class="comment">## You probably don't really care to know about deleted attachments.</span>
attachments   -A message/external-body
attachments   -I message/external-body
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
Entering the command <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><span class="command"><strong>attachments</strong></span> ?</span>”</span> as
a command will list your current settings in Muttrc format, so that it
can be pasted elsewhere.
</p><p>
Entering the command <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><span class="command"><strong>unattachments</strong></span> *</span>”</span> as
a command will Clear all attachment settings.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="mime-lookup"></a>7. MIME Lookup</h2></div></div></div><p>
Usage:
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">mime_lookup</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command">unmime_lookup</code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
... }</p></div><p>
Mutt's <span class="command"><strong>mime_lookup</strong></span> list specifies a list of MIME
types that should <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> be treated according to their
mailcap entry.  This option is designed to deal with binary types such
as <code class="literal">application/octet-stream</code>.  When an attachment's
MIME type is listed in <span class="command"><strong>mime_lookup</strong></span>, then the
extension of the filename will be compared to the list of extensions in
the <code class="literal">mime.types</code> file.  The MIME type associated with
this extension will then be used to process the attachment according to
the rules in the mailcap file and according to any other configuration
options (such as <span class="command"><strong>auto_view</strong></span>) specified.  Common usage
would be:
</p><pre class="screen">
mime_lookup application/octet-stream application/X-Lotus-Manuscript
</pre><p>
In addition, the <code class="literal">unmime_lookup</code> command may be used to
disable this feature for any particular MIME type if it had been set,
for example, in a global <code class="literal">.muttrc</code>.
</p></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="optionalfeatures"></a>Chapter 6. Optional Features</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#optionalfeatures-notes">1. General Notes</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compile-time-features">1.1. Enabling/Disabling Features</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#url-syntax">1.2. URL Syntax</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#ssl">2. SSL/TLS Support</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#starttls">2.1. STARTTLS</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#secure-tunnel">2.2. Tunnel</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#pop">3. POP3 Support</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#imap">4. IMAP Support</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#imap-browser">4.1. The IMAP Folder Browser</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#imap-authentication">4.2. Authentication</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#smtp">5. SMTP Support</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#oauth">6. OAUTHBEARER Support</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#xoauth2">6.1. XOAUTH2 Support</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#account-hook">7. Managing Multiple Accounts</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#caching">8. Local Caching</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#header-caching">8.1. Header Caching</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#body-caching">8.2. Body Caching</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#cache-dirs">8.3. Cache Directories</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#maint-cache">8.4. Maintenance</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#exact-address">9. Exact Address Generation</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#sending-mixmaster">10. Sending Anonymous Messages via Mixmaster</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#sidebar">11. Sidebar</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-intro">11.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-variables">11.2. Variables</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-functions">11.3. Functions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-whitelist">11.4. Commands</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-colors">11.5. Colors</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-sort">11.6. Sort</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#sidebar-see-also">11.7. See Also</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#compress">12. Compressed Folders Feature</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compress-intro">12.1. Introduction</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compress-commands">12.2. Commands</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#autocryptdoc">13. Autocrypt</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-requirements">13.1. Requirements</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-init">13.2. First Run</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-compose">13.3. Compose Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-acctmgmt">13.4. Account Management</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocryptdoc-keyrings">13.5. Alternative Key and Keyring Strategies</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="optionalfeatures-notes"></a>1. General Notes</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="compile-time-features"></a>1.1. Enabling/Disabling Features</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports several of optional features which can be enabled or
disabled at compile-time by giving the <span class="emphasis"><em>configure</em></span>
script certain arguments. These are listed in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Optional
features</span>”</span> section of the <span class="emphasis"><em>configure --help</em></span>
output.
</p><p>
Which features are enabled or disabled can later be determined from the
output of <code class="literal">mutt -v</code>. If a compile option starts with
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span> it is enabled and disabled if prefixed with
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-</span>”</span>. For example, if Mutt was compiled using GnuTLS for
encrypted communication instead of OpenSSL, <code class="literal">mutt -v</code>
would contain:
</p><pre class="screen">
-USE_SSL_OPENSSL +USE_SSL_GNUTLS</pre></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="url-syntax"></a>1.2. URL Syntax</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt optionally supports the IMAP, POP3 and SMTP protocols which require
to access servers using URLs. The canonical syntax for specifying URLs
in Mutt is (an item enclosed in <code class="literal">[]</code> means it is
optional and may be omitted):
</p><pre class="screen">
proto[s]://[username[:password]@]server[:port][/path]
</pre><p>
<span class="emphasis"><em>proto</em></span> is the communication protocol:
<code class="literal">imap</code> for IMAP, <code class="literal">pop</code> for POP3 and
<code class="literal">smtp</code> for SMTP. If <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">s</span>”</span> for <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">secure
communication</span>”</span> is appended, Mutt will attempt to establish an
encrypted communication using SSL or TLS.
</p><p>
Since all protocols supported by Mutt support/require authentication,
login credentials may be specified in the URL. This has the advantage
that multiple IMAP, POP3 or SMTP servers may be specified (which isn't
possible using, for example, <a class="link" href="#imap-user" title="3.153. imap_user">$imap_user</a>). The username may contain the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">@</span>”</span> symbol being used by many mail systems as part of the
login name. The special characters <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">/</span>”</span>
(<code class="literal">%2F</code>), <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">:</span>”</span> (<code class="literal">%3A</code>) and
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%</span>”</span> (<code class="literal">%25</code>) have to be URL-encoded in
usernames using the <code class="literal">%</code>-notation.
</p><p>
A password can be given, too but is not recommended if the URL is
specified in a configuration file on disk.
</p><p>
If no port number is given, Mutt will use the system's default for the
given protocol (usually consulting <code class="literal">/etc/services</code>).
</p><p>
The optional path is only relevant for IMAP and ignored elsewhere.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-url"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 6.1. URLs</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
pops://host/
imaps://user@host/INBOX/Sent
smtp://user@host:587/
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="ssl"></a>2. SSL/TLS Support</h2></div></div></div><p>
If Mutt is compiled with IMAP, POP3 and/or SMTP support, it can also be
compiled with support for SSL or TLS using either OpenSSL or GnuTLS ( by
running the <span class="emphasis"><em>configure</em></span> script with the
<span class="emphasis"><em>--enable-ssl=...</em></span> option for OpenSSL or
<span class="emphasis"><em>--enable-gnutls=...</em></span> for GnuTLS). Mutt can then
attempt to encrypt communication with remote servers if these protocols
are suffixed with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">s</span>”</span> for <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">secure
communication</span>”</span>.
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="starttls"></a>2.1. STARTTLS</h3></div></div></div><p>
    When non-secure URL protocols <code class="literal">imap://</code>,
    <code class="literal">pop://</code>, and <code class="literal">smtp://</code> are
    used, the initial connection to the server will be unencrypted.
    <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code> can be used to negotiate an encrypted
    connection after the initial unencrypted connection and exchange.
  </p><p>
    Two configuration variables control Mutt's behavior with
    <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code>.  <a class="link" href="#ssl-starttls" title="3.370. ssl_starttls">$ssl_starttls</a> will initiate
    <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code> if the server advertises support for
    it.  <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">$ssl_force_tls</a> will
    always try to initiate it, whether the server advertises support
    or not.
  </p><p>
    Mutt <span class="emphasis"><em>highly recommends</em></span> setting <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">$ssl_force_tls</a> unless you need to
    connect to an unencrypted server.  It's possible for an attacker
    to spoof interactions during the initial connection and hide
    support for <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code>.  The only way to prevent
    these attacks is by forcing <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code> with the
    <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">$ssl_force_tls</a> configuration
    variable.
  </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="secure-tunnel"></a>2.2. Tunnel</h3></div></div></div><p>
    When connecting through a <a class="link" href="#tunnel" title="3.400. tunnel">$tunnel</a>
    and <a class="link" href="#tunnel-is-secure" title="3.401. tunnel_is_secure">$tunnel_is_secure</a> is
    set (the default), Mutt will assume the connection to the server
    through the pipe is already secured.  Mutt will ignore <a class="link" href="#ssl-starttls" title="3.370. ssl_starttls">$ssl_starttls</a> and <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">$ssl_force_tls</a>, behaving as if TLS
    has already been negotiated.
  </p><p>
    When <a class="link" href="#tunnel-is-secure" title="3.401. tunnel_is_secure">$tunnel_is_secure</a> is
    unset, Mutt will respect the values of <a class="link" href="#ssl-starttls" title="3.370. ssl_starttls">$ssl_starttls</a> and <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">$ssl_force_tls</a>.  It is
    <span class="emphasis"><em>highly recommended</em></span> to set <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">$ssl_force_tls</a> in this case, to
    force <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code> negotiation.  Note that doing so
    will prevent connection to an IMAP server configured for
    preauthentication (<code class="literal">PREAUTH</code>).  If you use this
    configuration, it is recommended to use a secure tunnel.
  </p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="pop"></a>3. POP3 Support</h2></div></div></div><p>
If Mutt is compiled with POP3 support (by running the
<span class="emphasis"><em>configure</em></span> script with the
<span class="emphasis"><em>--enable-pop</em></span> flag), it has the ability to work with
mailboxes located on a remote POP3 server and fetch mail for local
browsing.
</p><p>
Remote POP3 servers can be accessed using URLs with the
<code class="literal">pop</code> protocol for unencrypted and
<code class="literal">pops</code> for encrypted communication, see <a class="xref" href="#url-syntax" title="1.2. URL Syntax">Section 1.2, “URL Syntax”</a> for details.
</p><p>
Polling for new mail is more expensive over POP3 than locally. For this
reason the frequency at which Mutt will check for mail remotely can be
controlled by the <a class="link" href="#pop-checkinterval" title="3.249. pop_checkinterval">$pop_checkinterval</a> variable, which
defaults to every 60 seconds.
</p><p>
POP is read-only which doesn't allow for some features like editing
messages or changing flags. However, using <a class="xref" href="#header-caching" title="8.1. Header Caching">Section 8.1, “Header Caching”</a> and <a class="xref" href="#body-caching" title="8.2. Body Caching">Section 8.2, “Body Caching”</a> Mutt
simulates the new/old/read flags as well as flagged and replied.  Mutt
applies some logic on top of remote messages but cannot change them so
that modifications of flags are lost when messages are downloaded from
the POP server (either by Mutt or other tools).
</p><a id="fetch-mail"></a><p>
Another way to access your POP3 mail is the
<code class="literal">&lt;fetch-mail&gt;</code> function (default: G).  It allows
to connect to <a class="link" href="#pop-host" title="3.251. pop_host">$pop_host</a>, fetch all your
new mail and place it in the local <a class="link" href="#spoolfile" title="3.365. spoolfile">$spoolfile</a>.  After this point, Mutt runs
exactly as if the mail had always been local.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
If you only need to fetch all messages to a local mailbox you should
consider using a specialized program, such as
<code class="literal">fetchmail(1)</code>, <code class="literal">getmail(1)</code> or
similar.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="imap"></a>4. IMAP Support</h2></div></div></div><p>
If Mutt was compiled with IMAP support (by running the
<span class="emphasis"><em>configure</em></span> script with the
<span class="emphasis"><em>--enable-imap</em></span> flag), it has the ability to work
with folders located on a remote IMAP server.
</p><p>
You can access the remote inbox by selecting the folder by its URL (see
<a class="xref" href="#url-syntax" title="1.2. URL Syntax">Section 1.2, “URL Syntax”</a> for details) using the
<code class="literal">imap</code> or <code class="literal">imaps</code> protocol.
Alternatively, a pine-compatible notation is also supported, i.e.
<code class="literal">{[username@]imapserver[:port][/ssl]}path/to/folder</code>
</p><p>
Note that not all servers use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">/</span>”</span> as the hierarchy
separator.  Mutt should correctly notice which separator is being used
by the server and convert paths accordingly.
</p><p>
When browsing folders on an IMAP server, you can toggle whether to look
at only the folders you are subscribed to, or all folders with the
<span class="emphasis"><em>toggle-subscribed</em></span> command.  See also the <a class="link" href="#imap-list-subscribed" title="3.143. imap_list_subscribed">$imap_list_subscribed</a> variable.
</p><p>
Polling for new mail on an IMAP server can cause noticeable delays. So,
you'll want to carefully tune the <a class="link" href="#mail-check" title="3.163. mail_check">$mail_check</a> and <a class="link" href="#timeout" title="3.393. timeout">$timeout</a> variables. Reasonable values are:
</p><pre class="screen">
set mail_check=90
set timeout=15
</pre><p>
with relatively good results even over slow modem lines.
</p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
Note that if you are using mbox as the mail store on UW servers prior to
v12.250, the server has been reported to disconnect a client if another
client selects the same folder.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-browser"></a>4.1. The IMAP Folder Browser</h3></div></div></div><p>
As of version 1.2, Mutt supports browsing mailboxes on an IMAP
server. This is mostly the same as the local file browser, with the
following differences:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
In lieu of file permissions, Mutt displays the string
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">IMAP</span>”</span>, possibly followed by the symbol <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span>,
indicating that the entry contains both messages and subfolders. On
Cyrus-like servers folders will often contain both messages and
subfolders.  A mailbox name with a trailing delimiter (usually
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">/</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">.</span>”</span>) indicates subfolders.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
For the case where an entry can contain both messages and subfolders,
the selection key (bound to <code class="literal">enter</code> by default) will
choose to descend into the subfolder view. If you wish to view the
messages in that folder, you must use <code class="literal">view-file</code>
instead (bound to <code class="literal">space</code> by default).
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
You can create, delete and rename mailboxes with the
<code class="literal">&lt;create-mailbox&gt;</code>,
<code class="literal">&lt;delete-mailbox&gt;</code>, and
<code class="literal">&lt;rename-mailbox&gt;</code> commands (default bindings:
<code class="literal">C</code>, <code class="literal">d</code> and <code class="literal">r</code>,
respectively). You may also <code class="literal">&lt;subscribe&gt;</code> and
<code class="literal">&lt;unsubscribe&gt;</code> to mailboxes (normally these are
bound to <code class="literal">s</code> and <code class="literal">u</code>, respectively).
</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-authentication"></a>4.2. Authentication</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports four authentication methods with IMAP servers: SASL,
GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, and LOGIN (there is a patch by Grant Edwards to add
NTLM authentication for you poor exchange users out there, but it has
yet to be integrated into the main tree). There is also support for the
pseudo-protocol ANONYMOUS, which allows you to log in to a public IMAP
server without having an account. To use ANONYMOUS, simply make your
username blank or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">anonymous</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
SASL is a special super-authenticator, which selects among several
protocols (including GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5, ANONYMOUS, and DIGEST-MD5) the
most secure method available on your host and the server. Using some of
these methods (including DIGEST-MD5 and possibly GSSAPI), your entire
session will be encrypted and invisible to those teeming network
snoops. It is the best option if you have it. To use it, you must have
the Cyrus SASL library installed on your system and compile Mutt with
the <span class="emphasis"><em>--with-sasl</em></span> flag.
</p><p>
Mutt will try whichever methods are compiled in and available on the
server, in the following order: SASL, ANONYMOUS, GSSAPI, CRAM-MD5,
LOGIN.
</p><p>
There are a few variables which control authentication:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#imap-user" title="3.153. imap_user">$imap_user</a> - controls the username
under which you request authentication on the IMAP server, for all
authenticators. This is overridden by an explicit username in the
mailbox path (i.e. by using a mailbox name of the form
<code class="literal">{user@host}</code>).
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#imap-pass" title="3.146. imap_pass">$imap_pass</a> - a password which you may
preset, used by all authentication methods where a password is needed.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
<a class="link" href="#imap-authenticators" title="3.134. imap_authenticators">$imap_authenticators</a> - a
colon-delimited list of IMAP authentication methods to try, in the order
you wish to try them. If specified, this overrides Mutt's default
(attempt everything, in the order listed above).
</p></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="smtp"></a>5. SMTP Support</h2></div></div></div><p>
Besides supporting traditional mail delivery through a
sendmail-compatible program, Mutt supports delivery through SMTP if it
was configured and built with <code class="literal">--enable-smtp</code>.
</p><p>
If the configuration variable <a class="link" href="#smtp-url" title="3.356. smtp_url">$smtp_url</a>
is set, Mutt will contact the given SMTP server to deliver messages; if
it is unset, Mutt will use the program specified by <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a>.
</p><p>
For details on the URL syntax, please see <a class="xref" href="#url-syntax" title="1.2. URL Syntax">Section 1.2, “URL Syntax”</a>.
</p><p>
The built-in SMTP support supports encryption (the
<code class="literal">smtps</code> protocol using SSL or TLS) as well as SMTP
authentication using SASL. The authentication mechanisms for SASL are
specified in <a class="link" href="#smtp-authenticators" title="3.353. smtp_authenticators">$smtp_authenticators</a> defaulting to
an empty list which makes Mutt try all available methods from
most-secure to least-secure.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="oauth"></a>6. OAUTHBEARER Support</h2></div></div></div><p>
Preliminary OAUTH support for IMAP, POP, and SMTP is provided via
external scripts.
</p><p>
At least for Gmail, you can use the <code class="literal">oauth2.py</code>
script from Google's gmail-oauth2-tools: <a class="ulink" href="https://github.com/google/gmail-oauth2-tools/blob/master/python/oauth2.py" target="_top">https://github.com/google/gmail-oauth2-tools/blob/master/python/oauth2.py</a>
</p><p>
You'll need to get your own oauth client credentials for Gmail here:
<a class="ulink" href="https://console.developers.google.com/apis/credentials" target="_top">https://console.developers.google.com/apis/credentials</a>
</p><p>
Then, you'd use <code class="literal">oauth2.py</code> with
<code class="literal">--generate_oauth2_token</code> to get a refresh token, and
configure mutt with:
</p><pre class="screen">
set imap_authenticators="oauthbearer"
set imap_oauth_refresh_command="/path/to/oauth2.py --quiet --user=[email_address]\
    --client_id=[client_id] --client_secret=[client_secret]\
    --refresh_token=[refresh_token]"
</pre><p>
Substitute pop or smtp for imap in the above example to configure for those.
</p><p>
An alternative script is <a class="ulink" href="https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/tree/master/contrib/mutt_oauth2.py" target="_top">contrib/mutt_oauth2.py</a> script.  For more details see <a class="ulink" href="https://gitlab.com/muttmua/mutt/tree/master/contrib/mutt_oauth2.py.README" target="_top">contrib/mutt_oauth2.py.README</a>.
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="xoauth2"></a>6.1. XOAUTH2 Support</h3></div></div></div><p>
    Support for the deprecated XOAUTH2 protocol is also available.  To
    enable this, add <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">xoauth2</span>”</span> to the
    <a class="link" href="#imap-authenticators" title="3.134. imap_authenticators">$imap_authenticators</a>,
    <a class="link" href="#pop-authenticators" title="3.248. pop_authenticators">$pop_authenticators</a>, or
    <a class="link" href="#smtp-authenticators" title="3.353. smtp_authenticators">$smtp_authenticators</a> config
    variables.  XOAUTH2 uses the same refresh command configuration variables
    as OAUTHBEARER:
    <a class="link" href="#imap-oauth-refresh-command" title="3.145. imap_oauth_refresh_command">$imap_oauth_refresh_command</a>,
    <a class="link" href="#pop-oauth-refresh-command" title="3.253. pop_oauth_refresh_command">$pop_oauth_refresh_command</a>, and
    <a class="link" href="#smtp-oauth-refresh-command" title="3.354. smtp_oauth_refresh_command">$smtp_oauth_refresh_command</a>.
    Those will need to be set to a script to generate the appropriate XOAUTH2
    token.
  </p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="account-hook"></a>7. Managing Multiple Accounts</h2></div></div></div><p>
Usage:
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">account-hook</code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div><p>
If you happen to have accounts on multiple IMAP, POP and/or SMTP
servers, you may find managing all the authentication settings
inconvenient and error-prone. The <a class="link" href="#account-hook" title="7. Managing Multiple Accounts"><span class="command"><strong>account-hook</strong></span></a> command
may help. This hook works like <a class="link" href="#folder-hook" title="9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox"><span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span></a> but is
invoked whenever Mutt needs to access a remote mailbox (including inside
the folder browser), not just when you open the mailbox. This includes
(for example) polling for new mail, storing Fcc messages and saving
messages to a folder. As a consequence, <a class="link" href="#account-hook" title="7. Managing Multiple Accounts"><span class="command"><strong>account-hook</strong></span></a> should
only be used to set connection-related settings such as passwords or
tunnel commands but not settings such as sender address or name (because
in general it should be considered unpredictable which <a class="link" href="#account-hook" title="7. Managing Multiple Accounts"><span class="command"><strong>account-hook</strong></span></a> was last
used).
</p><p>
Some examples:
</p><pre class="screen">
account-hook . 'unset imap_user; unset imap_pass; unset tunnel'
account-hook imap://host1/ 'set imap_user=me1 imap_pass=foo'
account-hook imap://host2/ 'set tunnel="ssh host2 /usr/libexec/imapd"'
account-hook smtp://user@host3/ 'set tunnel="ssh host3 /usr/libexec/smtpd"'
</pre><p>
To manage multiple accounts with, for example, different values of <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> or sender addresses, <a class="link" href="#folder-hook" title="9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox"><span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span></a> has to be
used together with the <a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail"><span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span></a> command.
</p><div class="example"><a id="ex-multiaccount"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 6.2. Managing multiple accounts</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">
mailboxes imap://user@host1/INBOX
folder-hook imap://user@host1/ 'set folder=imap://host1/ ; set record=+INBOX/Sent'

mailboxes imap://user@host2/INBOX
folder-hook imap://user@host2/ 'set folder=imap://host2/ ; set record=+INBOX/Sent'
</pre></div></div><br class="example-break" /><p>
In example <a class="xref" href="#ex-multiaccount" title="Example 6.2. Managing multiple accounts">Example 6.2, “Managing multiple accounts”</a> the folders are defined
using <a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail"><span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span></a> so
Mutt polls them for new mail. Each <a class="link" href="#folder-hook" title="9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox"><span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span></a> triggers
when one mailbox below each IMAP account is opened and sets <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a> to the account's root folder. Next, it
sets <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> to the
<span class="emphasis"><em>INBOX/Sent</em></span> folder below the newly set <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a>. Please notice that the value the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span> <a class="link" href="#shortcuts" title="10. Mailbox Shortcuts">mailbox shortcut</a>
refers to depends on the <span class="emphasis"><em>current</em></span> value of <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a> and therefore has to be set separately
per account. Setting other values like <a class="link" href="#from" title="3.109. from">$from</a>
or <a class="link" href="#signature" title="3.321. signature">$signature</a> is analogous to setting
<a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="caching"></a>8. Local Caching</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt contains two types of local caching: <span class="emphasis"><em>(1)</em></span> the
so-called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">header caching</span>”</span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>(2)</em></span> the
so-called <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">body caching</span>”</span> which are both described in this
section.
</p><p>
Header caching is optional as it depends on external libraries, body
caching is always enabled if Mutt is compiled with POP and/or IMAP
support as these use it (body caching requires no external library).
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="header-caching"></a>8.1. Header Caching</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt provides optional support for caching message headers for the
following types of folders: IMAP, POP, Maildir and MH. Header caching
greatly speeds up opening large folders because for remote folders,
headers usually only need to be downloaded once. For Maildir and MH,
reading the headers from a single file is much faster than looking at
possibly thousands of single files (since Maildir and MH use one file
per message.)
</p><p>
Header caching can be enabled via the configure script and the
<span class="emphasis"><em>--enable-hcache</em></span> option. It's not turned on by
default because external database libraries are required: one of
tokyocabinet, kyotocabinet, lmdb, qdbm, gdbm or bdb must be present.
</p><p>
If enabled, <a class="link" href="#header-cache" title="3.113. header_cache">$header_cache</a> can be
used to either point to a file or a directory. If set to point to a
file, one database file for all folders will be used (which may result
in lower performance), but one file per folder if it points to a
directory.  When pointing to a directory, be sure to create the directory
in advance, or Mutt will interpret it as a file to be created.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="body-caching"></a>8.2. Body Caching</h3></div></div></div><p>
Both cache methods can be combined using the same directory for storage
(and for IMAP/POP even provide meaningful file names) which simplifies
manual maintenance tasks.
</p><p>
In addition to caching message headers only, Mutt can also cache whole
message bodies. This results in faster display of messages for POP and
IMAP folders because messages usually have to be downloaded only once.
</p><p>
For configuration, the variable <a class="link" href="#message-cachedir" title="3.182. message_cachedir">$message_cachedir</a> must point to a directory. There, Mutt will
create a hierarchy of subdirectories named like the account and mailbox
path the cache is for.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="cache-dirs"></a>8.3. Cache Directories</h3></div></div></div><p>
For using both, header and body caching, <a class="link" href="#header-cache" title="3.113. header_cache">$header_cache</a> and <a class="link" href="#message-cachedir" title="3.182. message_cachedir">$message_cachedir</a> can be safely set
to the same value.
</p><p>
In a header or body cache directory, Mutt creates a directory hierarchy
named like: <code class="literal">proto:user@hostname</code> where
<code class="literal">proto</code> is either <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">pop</span>”</span> or
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">imap.</span>”</span> Within there, for each folder, Mutt stores messages
in single files and header caches in files with the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">.hcache</span>”</span> extension.  All files can be removed as needed if
the consumed disk space becomes an issue as Mutt will silently fetch
missing items again. Pathnames are always stored in UTF-8 encoding.
</p><p>
For Maildir and MH, the header cache files are named after the MD5
checksum of the path.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="maint-cache"></a>8.4. Maintenance</h3></div></div></div><p>
Mutt does not (yet) support maintenance features for header cache
database files so that files have to be removed in case they grow too
big. It depends on the database library used for header caching whether
disk space freed by removing messages is re-used.
</p><p>
For body caches, Mutt can keep the local cache in sync with the remote
mailbox if the <a class="link" href="#message-cache-clean" title="3.181. message_cache_clean">$message_cache_clean</a> variable is
set. Cleaning means to remove messages from the cache which are no
longer present in the mailbox which only happens when other mail clients
or instances of Mutt using a different body cache location delete
messages (Mutt itself removes deleted messages from the cache when
syncing a mailbox). As cleaning can take a noticeable amount of time, it
should not be set in general but only occasionally.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="exact-address"></a>9. Exact Address Generation</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt supports the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Name &lt;user@host&gt;</span>”</span> address syntax
for reading and writing messages, the older <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">user@host
(Name)</span>”</span> syntax is only supported when reading messages. The
<span class="emphasis"><em>--enable-exact-address</em></span> switch can be given to
configure to build it with write-support for the latter
syntax. <code class="literal">EXACT_ADDRESS</code> in the output of <code class="literal">mutt
-v</code> indicates whether it's supported.
</p><p>
Note: If the full address contains non-ascii characters, or sequences
that require RFC 2047 encoding, Mutt reverts to writing out the
normalized <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Name &lt;user@host&gt;</span>”</span> form, in order to
generate legal output.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="sending-mixmaster"></a>10. Sending Anonymous Messages via Mixmaster</h2></div></div></div><p>
You may also have compiled Mutt to co-operate with Mixmaster, an
anonymous remailer.  Mixmaster permits you to send your messages
anonymously using a chain of remailers. Mixmaster support in Mutt is for
mixmaster version 2.04 or later.
</p><p>
To use it, you'll have to obey certain restrictions.  Most important,
you cannot use the <code class="literal">Cc</code> and <code class="literal">Bcc</code>
headers.  To tell Mutt to use mixmaster, you have to select a remailer
chain, using the mix function on the compose menu.
</p><p>
The chain selection screen is divided into two parts.  In the (larger)
upper part, you get a list of remailers you may use.  In the lower part,
you see the currently selected chain of remailers.
</p><p>
You can navigate in the chain using the
<code class="literal">&lt;chain-prev&gt;</code> and
<code class="literal">&lt;chain-next&gt;</code> functions, which are by default
bound to the left and right arrows and to the <code class="literal">h</code> and
<code class="literal">l</code> keys (think vi keyboard bindings).  To insert a
remailer at the current chain position, use the
<code class="literal">&lt;insert&gt;</code> function.  To append a remailer behind
the current chain position, use <code class="literal">&lt;select-entry&gt;</code>
or <code class="literal">&lt;append&gt;</code>.  You can also delete entries from
the chain, using the corresponding function.  Finally, to abandon your
changes, leave the menu, or <code class="literal">&lt;accept&gt;</code> them
pressing (by default) the <code class="literal">Return</code> key.
</p><p>
Note that different remailers do have different capabilities, indicated
in the %c entry of the remailer menu lines (see <a class="link" href="#mix-entry-format" title="3.196. mix_entry_format">$mix_entry_format</a>).  Most important is
the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">middleman</span>”</span> capability, indicated by a capital
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">M</span>”</span>: This means that the remailer in question cannot be
used as the final element of a chain, but will only forward messages to
other mixmaster remailers.  For details on the other capabilities,
please have a look at the mixmaster documentation.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="sidebar"></a>11. Sidebar</h2></div><div><h3 class="subtitle">Overview of mailboxes</h3></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-intro"></a>11.1. Introduction</h3></div></div></div><p>
      The Sidebar shows a list of all your mailboxes.  The list can be
      turned on and off, it can be themed and the list style can be
      configured.
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-variables"></a>11.2. Variables</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="table-sidebar-variables"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 6.1. Sidebar Variables</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Sidebar Variables" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Type</th><th>Default</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_delim_chars</code></td><td>string</td><td><code class="literal">/.</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_divider_char</code></td><td>string</td><td><code class="literal">|</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_folder_indent</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code class="literal">no</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_format</code></td><td>string</td><td><code class="literal">%B%*  %n</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_indent_string</code></td><td>string</td><td><code class="literal">  </code> (two spaces)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_new_mail_only</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code class="literal">no</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_next_new_wrap</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code class="literal">no</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_short_path</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code class="literal">no</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_sort_method</code></td><td>enum</td><td><code class="literal">unsorted</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_visible</code></td><td>boolean</td><td><code class="literal">no</code></td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_width</code></td><td>number</td><td><code class="literal">20</code></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-functions"></a>11.3. Functions</h3></div></div></div><p>
      Sidebar adds the following functions to Mutt.
      By default, none of them are bound to keys.
    </p><div class="table"><a id="table-sidebar-functions"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 6.2. Sidebar Functions</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Sidebar Functions" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Menus</th><th>Function</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>index,pager</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-next&gt;</code></td><td>Move the highlight to next mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>index,pager</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-next-new&gt;</code></td><td>Move the highlight to next mailbox with new mail</td></tr><tr><td>index,pager</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-open&gt;</code></td><td>Open highlighted mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>index,pager</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-page-down&gt;</code></td><td>Scroll the Sidebar down 1 page</td></tr><tr><td>index,pager</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-page-up&gt;</code></td><td>Scroll the Sidebar up 1 page</td></tr><tr><td>index,pager</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-prev&gt;</code></td><td>Move the highlight to previous mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>index,pager</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-prev-new&gt;</code></td><td>Move the highlight to previous mailbox with new mail</td></tr><tr><td>index,pager</td><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-toggle-visible&gt;</code></td><td>Make the Sidebar (in)visible</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-whitelist"></a>11.4. Commands</h3></div></div></div><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">sidebar_whitelist</code>   
	<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
        [
	<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
      ...]<br /><code class="command">unsidebar_whitelist</code>  { 
	<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
        |   
	<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
      ... }</p></div><p>
      This command specifies mailboxes that will always be displayed
      in the sidebar, even if <a class="link" href="#sidebar-new-mail-only" title="3.311. sidebar_new_mail_only">$sidebar_new_mail_only</a>
      is set and the mailbox does not contain new mail.
    </p><p>
      The <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unsidebar_whitelist</span>”</span> command is used to remove a mailbox from
      the list of whitelisted mailboxes. Use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unsidebar_whitelist *</span>”</span>
      to remove all mailboxes.
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-colors"></a>11.5. Colors</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="table-sidebar-colors"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 6.3. Sidebar Colors</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Sidebar Colors" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Default Color</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_divider</code></td><td>default</td><td>The dividing line between the Sidebar and the Index/Pager panels</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_flagged</code></td><td>default</td><td>Mailboxes containing flagged mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_highlight</code></td><td>underline</td><td>Cursor to select a mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_indicator</code></td><td>mutt <code class="literal">indicator</code></td><td>The mailbox open in the Index panel</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_new</code></td><td>default</td><td>Mailboxes containing new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">sidebar_spoolfile</code></td><td>default</td><td>Mailbox that receives incoming mail</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
    If the <code class="literal">sidebar_indicator</code> color isn't set, then the default Mutt
    indicator color will be used (the color used in the index panel).
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-sort"></a>11.6. Sort</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="table-sidebar-sort"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 6.4. Sidebar Sort</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Sidebar Sort" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Sort</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">alpha</code></td><td>Alphabetically by path or label</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">count</code></td><td>Total number of messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">flagged</code></td><td>Number of flagged messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">name</code></td><td>Alphabetically by path or label</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">new</code></td><td>Number of unread messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">path</code></td><td>Alphabetically by path (ignores label)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">unread</code></td><td>Number of unread messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">unsorted</code></td><td>Do not resort the paths</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-see-also"></a>11.7. See Also</h3></div></div></div><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p><a class="link" href="#regexp" title="2. Regular Expressions">Regular Expressions</a></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">Patterns</a></p></li><li class="listitem"><p><a class="link" href="#color" title="11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes">Color command</a></p></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="compress"></a>12. Compressed Folders Feature</h2></div><div><h3 class="subtitle">Read from/write to compressed mailboxes</h3></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="compress-intro"></a>12.1. Introduction</h3></div></div></div><p>
      The Compressed Folder patch allows Mutt to read mailbox files that are
      compressed.  But it isn't limited to compressed files.  It works well
      with encrypted files, too.  In fact, if you can create a program/script
      to convert to and from your format, then Mutt can read it.
    </p><p>
      The patch adds three hooks to Mutt: <code class="literal">open-hook</code>,
      <code class="literal">close-hook</code> and <code class="literal">append-hook</code>.  They
      define commands to: uncompress a file; compress a file; append
      messages to an already compressed file.
    </p><p>
      There are some examples of both compressed and encrypted files,
      later.  For now, the documentation will just concentrate on
      compressed files.
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="compress-commands"></a>12.2. Commands</h3></div></div></div><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">open-hook</code>   
        <em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
         
        <em class="replaceable"><code>shell-command</code></em>
       <br /><code class="command">close-hook</code>   
        <em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
         
        <em class="replaceable"><code>shell-command</code></em>
       <br /><code class="command">append-hook</code>   
        <em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
         
        <em class="replaceable"><code>shell-command</code></em>
       </p></div><p>
      The shell-command must contain two placeholders for filenames:
      <code class="literal">%f</code> and <code class="literal">%t</code>.  These represent
      <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">from</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">to</span>”</span> filenames.  These placeholders
      should be placed inside single-quotes to prevent unintended shell
      expansions.
    </p><p>
      If you need the exact string <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%f</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%t</span>”</span> in your
      command, simply double up the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%</span>”</span> character, e.g.
      <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%%f</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%%t</span>”</span>.
    </p><div class="table"><a id="table-compress-optional"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 6.5. Not all Hooks are Required</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Not all Hooks are Required" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Open</th><th>Close</th><th>Append</th><th>Effect</th><th>Useful if</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Open</td><td>-</td><td>-</td><td>Folder is readonly</td><td>The folder is just a backup</td></tr><tr><td>Open</td><td>Close</td><td>-</td><td>Folder is read/write, but the entire folder must be
              written if anything is changed</td><td>Your compression format doesn't support appending</td></tr><tr><td>Open</td><td>Close</td><td>Append</td><td>Folder is read/write and emails can be efficiently added
              to the end</td><td>Your compression format supports appending</td></tr><tr><td>Open</td><td>-</td><td>Append</td><td>Folder is readonly, but can be appended to</td><td>You want to store emails, but never change them</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>The command:</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>should return a non-zero exit status on failure</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>should not delete any files</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="open-hook"></a>12.2.1. Read from compressed mailbox</h4></div></div></div><pre class="screen">open-hook regexp shell-command</pre><p>
        If Mutt is unable to open a file, it then looks for
        <code class="literal">open-hook</code> that matches the filename.
      </p><p>
        If your compression program doesn't have a well-defined extension,
        then you can use <code class="literal">.</code> as the regexp.
      </p><div class="example"><a id="compress-open-hook-example"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 6.3. Example of open-hook</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">open-hook '\.gz$' "gzip -cd '%f' &gt; '%t'"</pre><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt finds a file, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">example.gz</span>”</span>,
              that it can't read</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt has an <code class="literal">open-hook</code>
              whose regexp matches the filename:
              <code class="literal">\.gz$</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt uses the command <code class="literal">gzip -cd</code>
              to create a temporary file that it <span class="emphasis"><em>can</em></span>
              read</p></li></ul></div></div></div><br class="example-break" /></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="close-hook"></a>12.2.2. Write to a compressed mailbox</h4></div></div></div><pre class="screen">close-hook regexp shell-command</pre><p>
        When Mutt has finished with a compressed mail folder, it will look
        for a matching <code class="literal">close-hook</code> to recompress the file.
        This hook is <a class="link" href="#table-compress-optional" title="Table 6.5. Not all Hooks are Required">optional</a>.
      </p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
          If the folder has not been modified, the
          <code class="literal">close-hook</code> will not be called.
        </p></div><div class="example"><a id="compress-close-hook-example"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 6.4. Example of close-hook</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">close-hook '\.gz$' "gzip -c '%t' &gt; '%f'"</pre><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt has finished with a folder, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">example.gz</span>”</span>,
              that it opened with <code class="literal">open-hook</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>The folder has been modified</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt has a <code class="literal">close-hook</code> whose regexp
              matches the filename: <code class="literal">\.gz$</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt uses the command <code class="literal">gzip -c</code>
              to create a new compressed file</p></li></ul></div></div></div><br class="example-break" /></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="append-hook"></a>12.2.3. Append to a compressed mailbox</h4></div></div></div><pre class="screen">append-hook regexp shell-command</pre><p>
        When Mutt wants to append an email to a compressed mail folder, it
        will look for a matching <code class="literal">append-hook</code>.
        This hook is <a class="link" href="#table-compress-optional" title="Table 6.5. Not all Hooks are Required">optional</a>.
      </p><p>
        Using the <code class="literal">append-hook</code> will save time, but
        Mutt won't be able to determine the type of the mail folder
        inside the compressed file.
      </p><p>
        Mutt will <span class="emphasis"><em>assume</em></span> the type to be that of
        the <code class="literal">$mbox_type</code> variable.  Mutt also uses
        this type for temporary files.
      </p><p>
        Mutt will only use the <code class="literal">append-hook</code> for existing files.
        The <code class="literal">close-hook</code> will be used for empty, or missing files.
      </p><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
          If your command writes to stdout, it is vital that you use
          <code class="literal">&gt;&gt;</code> in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">append-hook</span>”</span>.
          If not, data will be lost.
        </p></div><div class="example"><a id="compress-append-hook-example"></a><p class="title"><strong>Example 6.5. Example of append-hook</strong></p><div class="example-contents"><pre class="screen">append-hook '\.gz$' "gzip -c '%t' &gt;&gt; '%f'"</pre><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt wants to append an email to a folder, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">example.gz</span>”</span>,
              that it opened with <code class="literal">open-hook</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt has an <code class="literal">append-hook</code> whose regexp matches
              the filename: <code class="literal">\.gz$</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt knows the mailbox type from the <code class="literal">$mbox</code>
              variable</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Mutt uses the command <code class="literal">gzip -c</code>
              to append to an existing compressed file</p></li></ul></div></div></div><br class="example-break" /></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="compress-empty"></a>12.2.4. Empty Files</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Mutt assumes that an empty file is not compressed.  In this
        situation, unset <a class="link" href="#save-empty" title="3.292. save_empty">$save_empty</a>, so
        that the compressed file will be removed if you delete all of the
        messages.
      </p></div><div class="sect3"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h4 class="title"><a id="compress-security"></a>12.2.5. Security</h4></div></div></div><p>
        Encrypted files are decrypted into temporary files which are
        stored in the <a class="link" href="#tmpdir" title="3.394. tmpdir">$tmpdir</a> directory.
        This could be a security risk.
      </p></div></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="autocryptdoc"></a>13. Autocrypt</h2></div></div></div><p>
    Mutt can be compiled with Autocrypt support by running
    <code class="literal">configure</code> with the
    <code class="literal">--enable-autocrypt</code> flag.  Autocrypt provides
    easy to use, passive protection against data collection.  Keys are
    distributed via an <code class="literal">Autocrypt:</code> header added to
    emails.  It does <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> protect against active
    adversaries, and so should not be considered a substitute for
    normal encryption via your keyring, using key signing and the web
    of trust to verify identities.  With an understanding of these
    limitations, Autocrypt still provides an easy way to minimize
    cleartext emails sent between common correspondents, without
    having to explicitly exchange keys.  More information can be found
    at <a class="ulink" href="https://autocrypt.org/" target="_top">https://autocrypt.org/</a>.
  </p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocryptdoc-requirements"></a>13.1. Requirements</h3></div></div></div><p>
      Autocrypt requires support for ECC cryptography, and Mutt by
      default will generate ECC keys.  Therefore GnuPG 2.1 or greater
      is required.  Additionally, Mutt's Autocrypt implementation uses
      GPGME and requires at least version 1.8.0.
    </p><p>
      Account and peer information is stored in a sqlite3 database, and
      so Mutt must be configured with the <code class="literal">--with-sqlite3</code>
      flag when autocrypt is enabled.
    </p><p>
      It is highly recommended Mutt be configured
      <code class="literal">--with-idn</code> or
      <code class="literal">--with-idn2</code> so that Autocrypt can properly
      deal with international domain names.
    </p><p>
      While Mutt uses GPGME for Autocrypt, normal keyring operations
      can still be performed via classic mode (i.e. with <a class="link" href="#crypt-use-gpgme" title="3.71. crypt_use_gpgme">$crypt_use_gpgme</a> unset).
      However, to avoid unnecessary prompts, it is recommended gpg not
      be configured in <code class="literal">loopback pinentry</code> mode, and
      that <a class="link" href="#pgp-use-gpg-agent" title="3.240. pgp_use_gpg_agent">$pgp_use_gpg_agent</a>
      remain set (the default).
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocryptdoc-init"></a>13.2. First Run</h3></div></div></div><p>
      To enable Autocrypt, set <a class="link" href="#autocrypt" title="3.24. autocrypt">$autocrypt</a>, and if desired change the
      value of <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a> in
      your muttrc.  The first time Mutt is run after that, you will be
      prompted to create <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a>.  Mutt will then
      automatically create an sqlite3 database and GPG keyring in that
      directory.  Note since these files should be considered private,
      Mutt will create this directory with mode
      <code class="literal">700</code>.  If you create the directory manually,
      you should do the same.
    </p><p>
      Mutt recommends keeping the <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a> directory set
      differently from your GnuPG keyring directory
      (e.g. <code class="literal">~/.gnupg</code>).  Keys are automatically
      imported into the keyring from <code class="literal">Autocrypt:</code>
      headers.  Compared to standard <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">web of trust</span>”</span> keys,
      Autocrypt keys are somewhat ephemeral, and the autocrypt
      database is used to track when keys change or fall out of use.
      Having these keys mixed in with your normal keyring will make it
      more difficult to use features such as <a class="link" href="#crypt-opportunistic-encrypt" title="3.61. crypt_opportunistic_encrypt">$crypt_opportunistic_encrypt</a>
      and Autocrypt at the same time.
    </p><p>
      The <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a> variable
      is not designed to be changed while Mutt is running.  The
      database is created (if necessary) and connected to during
      startup.  Changing the variable can result in a situation where
      Mutt is looking in one place for the database and a different
      place for the GPG keyring, resulting in strange behavior.
    </p><p>
      Once the directory, keyring, and database are created, Mutt will
      ask whether you would like to create an account.  In order to
      use Autocrypt, each sending address needs an account.  As a
      convenience you can create an account during the first run.  If
      you would like to add additional accounts later, this can be
      done via the <code class="literal">&lt;autocrypt-acct-menu&gt;</code>
      function in the index, by default bound to <code class="literal">A</code>.
    </p><p>
      Account creation will first ask you for an email address.  Next,
      it will ask whether you want to create a new key or select an
      existing key.  (Note key selection takes place from the <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a> keyring, which
      will normally be empty during first run).  Finally, it will ask
      whether this address should prefer encryption or not.  Autocrypt
      1.1 allows automatically enabling encryption if
      <span class="emphasis"><em>both</em></span> sender and receiver have set
      <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">prefer encryption</span>”</span>.  Otherwise, you will need to
      manually enable autocrypt encryption in the compose menu.  For
      more details, see the compose menu section below.
    </p><p>
      After optionally creating an account, Mutt will prompt you to
      scan mailboxes for Autocrypt headers.  This step occurs because
      header cached messages are not re-scanned for Autocrypt headers.
      Scanning during this step will temporarily disable the header
      cache while opening each mailbox.  If you wish to do this
      manually later, you can simulate the same thing by unsetting
      <a class="link" href="#header-cache" title="3.113. header_cache">$header_cache</a> and opening a
      mailbox.
    </p><p>
      A final technical note: the first run process takes place
      between reading the muttrc and opening the initial mailbox.
      Some muttrc files will <a class="link" href="#push" title="25. Adding Key Sequences to the Keyboard Buffer">push</a> macros
      to be run after opening the mailbox.  To prevent this from
      interfering with the first run prompts, Mutt disables all macros
      during the first run.
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocryptdoc-compose"></a>13.3. Compose Menu</h3></div></div></div><p>
      When enabled, Autocrypt will add a line to the compose menu with
      two fields: <code class="literal">Autocrypt:</code> and
      <code class="literal">Recommendation:</code>.
    </p><p>
      The <code class="literal">Autocrypt:</code> field shows whether the
      message will be encrypted by Autocrypt when sent.  It has two
      values: <code class="literal">Encrypt</code> and <code class="literal">Off</code>.
      <code class="literal">Encrypt</code> can be enabled using the
      <code class="literal">&lt;autocrypt-menu&gt;</code> function, by default
      bound to <code class="literal">o</code>.
    </p><p>
      The <code class="literal">Recommendation:</code> field shows the output of
      the Autocrypt recommendation engine.  This can have one of five
      values:
    </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
          <code class="literal">Off</code> means the engine is disabled.  This
          can happen if the From address doesn't have an autocrypt
          account, or if the account has been manually disabled.
        </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
          <code class="literal">No</code> means one or more recipients are
          missing an autocrypt key, or the key found is unusable
          (i.e. expired, revoked, disabled, invalid, or not usable for
          encryption.)
        </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
          <code class="literal">Discouraged</code> means a key was found for
          every recipient, but the engine is not confident the message
          will be decryptable by the recipient.  This can happen if
          the key hasn't been used recently (compared to their last
          seen email).
        </p><p>
          It can also happen if the key wasn't seen first-hand from
          the sender.  Autocrypt has a feature where recipient keys
          can be included in group-encrypted emails.  This allows you
          to reply to a conversation where you don't have a key
          first-hand from one of the other recipients.  However, those
          keys are not trusted as much as from first-hand emails, so
          the engine warns you with a <code class="literal">Discouraged</code>
          status.
        </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
          <code class="literal">Available</code> means a key was found for every
          recipient, and the engine believes all keys are recent and
          seen from the recipient first hand.  However, either you or
          one of the recipients chose not to specify <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">prefer
          encryption</span>”</span>.
        </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
          <code class="literal">Yes</code> is the same as
          <code class="literal">Available</code>, with the addition that you and
          all recipients have specified <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">prefer
          encryption</span>”</span>.  This value will automatically enable
          encryption, unless you have manually switched it off or
          enabled regular encryption or signing via the
          <code class="literal">&lt;pgp-menu&gt;</code>.
        </p></li></ul></div><p>
      As mentioned above the <code class="literal">&lt;autocrypt-menu&gt;</code>
      function, by default bound to <code class="literal">o</code>, can be used
      to change the <code class="literal">Encrypt:</code> field value.
      <code class="literal">(e)ncrypt</code> will toggle encryption on.
      <code class="literal">(c)lear</code> will toggle encryption off.  If
      either of these are chosen, the field will remain in that state
      despite what the <code class="literal">Recommendation:</code> field shows.
      Lastly, <code class="literal">(a)utomatic</code> will set the value based
      on the recommendation engine's output.
    </p><p>
      Autocrypt encryption defers to normal encryption or signing.
      <span class="emphasis"><em>Anything</em></span> that enables normal encryption or
      signing will cause autocrypt encryption to turn off.  The only
      exception is when replying to an autocrypt-encrypted email
      (i.e. an email decrypted from the <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a> keyring).  Then,
      if <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-reply" title="3.27. autocrypt_reply">$autocrypt_reply</a> is
      <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, autocrypt mode will be forced on,
      overriding the settings
      <a class="link" href="#crypt-autosign" title="3.58. crypt_autosign">$crypt_autosign</a>,
      <a class="link" href="#crypt-autoencrypt" title="3.56. crypt_autoencrypt">$crypt_autoencrypt</a>,
      <a class="link" href="#crypt-replyencrypt" title="3.67. crypt_replyencrypt">$crypt_replyencrypt</a>,
      <a class="link" href="#crypt-replysign" title="3.68. crypt_replysign">$crypt_replysign</a>,
      <a class="link" href="#crypt-replysignencrypted" title="3.69. crypt_replysignencrypted">$crypt_replysignencrypted</a>, and
      <a class="link" href="#crypt-opportunistic-encrypt" title="3.61. crypt_opportunistic_encrypt">$crypt_opportunistic_encrypt</a>.
    </p><p>
      When postponing a message, autocrypt will respect <a class="link" href="#postpone-encrypt" title="3.260. postpone_encrypt">$postpone_encrypt</a>, but will
      use the autocrypt account key to encrypt the message.  Be sure
      to set <a class="link" href="#postpone-encrypt" title="3.260. postpone_encrypt">$postpone_encrypt</a>
      to ensure postponed messages marked for autocrypt encryption are
      encrypted.
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocryptdoc-acctmgmt"></a>13.4. Account Management</h3></div></div></div><p>
      The Autocrypt Account Menu is available from the index via
      <code class="literal">&lt;autocrypt-acct-menu&gt;</code>, by default bound
      to <code class="literal">A</code>.  See <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-account-map" title="4.14. Autocrypt Account Menu">Autocrypt Account Menu</a> for the
      list of functions and their default keybindings.
    </p><p>
      In this menu, you can create new accounts, delete accounts,
      toggle an account active/inactive, and toggle the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">prefer
      encryption</span>”</span> flag for an account.
    </p><p>
      Deleting an account only removes the account from the database.
      The GPG key is kept, to ensure you still have the ability to
      read past encrypted emails.
    </p><p>
      The Autocrypt 1.1 <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Setup Message</span>”</span> feature is not
      available yet, but will be added in the future.
    </p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocryptdoc-keyrings"></a>13.5. Alternative Key and Keyring Strategies</h3></div></div></div><p>
      Mutt by default partitions Autocrypt from normal keyring
      encryption/signing.  It does this by using a separate GPG
      keyring (in <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a>)
      and creating a new ECC key in that keyring for accounts.  There
      are good reasons for doing this by default.  It keeps random
      keys found inside email headers out of your normal keyring.  ECC
      keys are compact and better suited for email headers.  Autocrypt
      key selection is completely different from <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">web of
      trust</span>”</span> key selection, based on last-seen rules as opposed
      to trust and validity.  It also allows Mutt to distinguish
      Autocrypt encrypted emails from regular encrypted emails, and
      set the mode appropriately when replying to each type of email.
    </p><p>
      Still, some users may want to use an existing key from their
      normal keyring for Autocrypt too.  There are two ways this can
      be accomplished.  The <span class="emphasis"><em>recommended</em></span> way is to
      set <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a> to your
      normal keyring directory (e.g. <code class="literal">~/.gnupg</code>).
      During account creation, choosing <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">(s)elect existing GPG
      key</span>”</span> will then list and allow selecting your existing key
      for the new account.
    </p><p>
     An alternative is to copy your key over to the Autocrypt keyring,
     but there is a severe downside.  Mutt <span class="emphasis"><em>first</em></span>
     tries to decrypt messages using the Autocrypt keyring, and if
     that fails tries the normal keyring second.  This means all
     encrypted emails to that key will be decrypted, and have
     signatures verified from, the Autocrypt keyring.  Keys signatures
     and web of trust from your normal keyring will no longer show up
     in signatures when decrypting.
    </p><p>
      For that reason, if you want to use an existing key from your
      normal keyring, it is recommended to just set <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-dir" title="3.26. autocrypt_dir">$autocrypt_dir</a> to
      <code class="literal">~/.gnupg</code>.  This allows <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">web of
      trust</span>”</span> to show an appropriate signature message for
      verified messages.  Autocrypt header keys will be imported into
      your keyring, but if you don't want them mixed you should
      strongly consider using a separate autocrypt key and keyring
      instead.
    </p><p>
      Both methods have a couple additional caveats:
    </p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>
          Replying to an Autocrypt decrypted message by default forces
          Autocrypt mode on.  By sharing the same key, all replies
          will then start in Autocrypt mode, even if a message wasn't
          sent by one of your Autocrypt peers.  <a class="link" href="#autocrypt-reply" title="3.27. autocrypt_reply">$autocrypt_reply</a> can be
          <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> to allow manual control of the
          mode when replying.
        </p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
          When Mutt creates an account from a GPG key, it exports the
          public key, base64 encodes it, and stores that value in the
          sqlite3 database.  The value is then used in the Autocrypt
          header added to outgoing emails.  The ECC keys Mutt creates
          don't change, but if you use external keys that expire, when
          you resign to extend the expiration you will need to
          recreate the Autocrypt account using the <a class="link" href="#autocryptdoc-acctmgmt" title="13.4. Account Management">account menu</a>.
          Otherwise the Autocrypt header will contain the old expired
          exported keydata.
        </p></li></ul></div></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="security"></a>Chapter 7. Security Considerations</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#security-passwords">1. Passwords</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#security-tempfiles">2. Temporary Files</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#security-leaks">3. Information Leaks</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#security-leaks-mailto">3.1. <code class="literal">mailto:</code>-style Links</a></span></dt></dl></dd><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#security-external">4. External Applications</a></span></dt></dl></div><p>
First of all, Mutt contains no security holes included by intention but
may contain unknown security holes. As a consequence, please run Mutt
only with as few permissions as possible. Especially, do not run Mutt as
the super user.
</p><p>
When configuring Mutt, there're some points to note about secure setups
so please read this chapter carefully.
</p><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="security-passwords"></a>1. Passwords</h2></div></div></div><p>
Although Mutt can be told the various passwords for accounts, please
never store passwords in configuration files. Besides the fact that the
system's operator can always read them, you could forget to mask it out
when reporting a bug or asking for help via a mailing list. Even worse,
your mail including your password could be archived by internet search
engines, mail-to-news gateways etc. It may already be too late before
you notice your mistake.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="security-tempfiles"></a>2. Temporary Files</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt uses many temporary files for viewing messages, verifying digital
signatures, etc. As long as being used, these files are visible by other
users and maybe even readable in case of misconfiguration.  Also, a
different location for these files may be desired which can be changed
via the <a class="link" href="#tmpdir" title="3.394. tmpdir">$tmpdir</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="security-leaks"></a>3. Information Leaks</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="security-leaks-mailto"></a>3.1. <code class="literal">mailto:</code>-style Links</h3></div></div></div><p>
As Mutt be can be set up to be the mail client to handle
<code class="literal">mailto:</code> style links in websites, there're security
considerations, too. Arbitrary header fields can be embedded in these
links which could override existing header fields or attach arbitrary
files using <a class="link" href="#attach-header" title="6.2.2. Attach: Pseudo Header">the Attach:
pseudoheader</a>. This may be problematic if the <a class="link" href="#edit-headers" title="3.84. edit_headers">$edit-headers</a> variable is
<span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, i.e. the user doesn't want to see header
fields while editing the message and doesn't pay enough attention to the
compose menu's listing of attachments.
</p><p>
For example, following a link like
</p><pre class="screen">
mailto:joe@host?Attach=~/.gnupg/secring.gpg</pre><p>
will send out the user's private gnupg keyring to
<code class="literal">joe@host</code> if the user doesn't follow the information
on screen carefully enough.
</p><p>
To prevent these issues, Mutt by default only accepts the
<code class="literal">Subject</code>, <code class="literal">Body</code>,
<code class="literal">Cc</code>, <code class="literal">In-Reply-To</code>, and
<code class="literal">References</code> headers.  Allowed headers can be
adjusted with the <a class="link" href="#mailto-allow" title="33. Control allowed header fields in a mailto: URL"><span class="command"><strong>mailto_allow</strong></span></a> and
<a class="link" href="#mailto-allow" title="33. Control allowed header fields in a mailto: URL"><span class="command"><strong>unmailto_allow</strong></span></a>
commands.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="security-external"></a>4. External Applications</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt in many places has to rely on external applications or for
convenience supports mechanisms involving external applications.
</p><p>
One of these is the <code class="literal">mailcap</code> mechanism as defined by
RfC1524. Details about a secure use of the mailcap mechanisms is given
in <a class="xref" href="#secure-mailcap" title="3.2. Secure Use of Mailcap">Section 3.2, “Secure Use of Mailcap”</a>.
</p><p>
Besides the mailcap mechanism, Mutt uses a number of other external
utilities for operation, for example to provide crypto support, in
backtick expansion in configuration files or format string filters.  The
same security considerations apply for these as for tools involved via
mailcap.
</p></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="tuning"></a>Chapter 8. Performance Tuning</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#tuning-mailboxes">1. Reading and Writing Mailboxes</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#tuning-messages">2. Reading Messages from Remote Folders</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#tuning-search">3. Searching and Limiting</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="tuning-mailboxes"></a>1. Reading and Writing Mailboxes</h2></div></div></div><p>
Mutt's performance when reading mailboxes can be improved in two ways:
</p><div class="orderedlist"><ol class="orderedlist" type="1"><li class="listitem"><p>
For remote folders (IMAP and POP) as well as folders using one-file-per
message storage (Maildir and MH), Mutt's performance can be greatly
improved using <a class="link" href="#header-caching" title="8.1. Header Caching">header caching</a>.
using a single database per folder.
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>
Mutt provides the <a class="link" href="#read-inc" title="3.273. read_inc">$read_inc</a> and <a class="link" href="#write-inc" title="3.418. write_inc">$write_inc</a> variables to specify at which rate
to update progress counters. If these values are too low, Mutt may spend
more time on updating the progress counter than it spends on actually
reading/writing folders.
</p><p>
For example, when opening a maildir folder with a few thousand messages,
the default value for <a class="link" href="#read-inc" title="3.273. read_inc">$read_inc</a> may be
too low. It can be tuned on a folder-basis using <a class="link" href="#folder-hook" title="9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox"><span class="command"><strong>folder-hook</strong></span>s</a>:
</p><pre class="screen">
<span class="comment"># use very high $read_inc to speed up reading hcache'd maildirs</span>
folder-hook . 'set read_inc=1000'
<span class="comment"># use lower value for reading slower remote IMAP folders</span>
folder-hook ^imap 'set read_inc=100'
<span class="comment"># use even lower value for reading even slower remote POP folders</span>
folder-hook ^pop 'set read_inc=1'</pre></li></ol></div><p>
These settings work on a per-message basis. However, as messages may
greatly differ in size and certain operations are much faster than
others, even per-folder settings of the increment variables may not be
desirable as they produce either too few or too much progress updates.
Thus, Mutt allows to limit the number of progress updates per second
it'll actually send to the terminal using the <a class="link" href="#time-inc" title="3.392. time_inc">$time_inc</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="tuning-messages"></a>2. Reading Messages from Remote Folders</h2></div></div></div><p>
Reading messages from remote folders such as IMAP an POP can be slow
especially for large mailboxes since Mutt only caches a very limited
number of recently viewed messages (usually 10) per session (so that it
will be gone for the next session.)
</p><p>
To improve performance and permanently cache whole messages and
headers, please refer to <a class="link" href="#body-caching" title="8.2. Body Caching">body
caching</a> and <a class="link" href="#header-caching" title="8.1. Header Caching">header
caching</a> for details.
</p><p>
Additionally, it may be worth trying some of Mutt's experimental
features.  <a class="link" href="#imap-qresync" title="3.151. imap_qresync">$imap_qresync</a> (which
requires header caching) can provide a huge speed boost opening
mailboxes if your IMAP server supports it.  <a class="link" href="#imap-deflate" title="3.137. imap_deflate">$imap_deflate</a> enables compression, which
can also noticeably reduce download time for large mailboxes and
messages.
</p></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="tuning-search"></a>3. Searching and Limiting</h2></div></div></div><p>
When searching mailboxes either via a search or a limit action, for some
patterns Mutt distinguishes between regular expression and string
searches. For regular expressions, patterns are prefixed with
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~</span>”</span> and with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=</span>”</span> for string searches.
</p><p>
Even though a regular expression search is fast, it's several times
slower than a pure string search which is noticeable especially on large
folders. As a consequence, a string search should be used instead of a
regular expression search if the user already knows enough about the
search pattern.
</p><p>
For example, when limiting a large folder to all messages sent to or by
an author, it's much faster to search for the initial part of an e-mail
address via <code class="literal">=Luser@</code> instead of
<code class="literal">~Luser@</code>. This is especially true for searching
message bodies since a larger amount of input has to be searched.
</p><p>
As for regular expressions, a lower case string search pattern makes
Mutt perform a case-insensitive search except for IMAP (because for IMAP
Mutt performs server-side searches which don't support
case-insensitivity).
</p></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="reference"></a>Chapter 9. Reference</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#commandline">1. Command-Line Options</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#commands">2. Configuration Commands</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#variables">3. Configuration Variables</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#functions">4. Functions</a></span></dt><dd><dl><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#generic-map">4.1. Generic Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#index-map">4.2. Index Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#pager-map">4.3. Pager Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#alias-map">4.4. Alias Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#query-map">4.5. Query Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#attachment-map">4.6. Attachment Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#compose-map">4.7. Compose Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#postpone-map">4.8. Postpone Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#browser-map">4.9. Browser Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#pgp-map">4.10. Pgp Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#smime-map">4.11. Smime Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#mixmaster-map">4.12. Mixmaster Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#editor-map">4.13. Editor Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#autocrypt-account-map">4.14. Autocrypt Account Menu</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="#list-map">4.15. List Menu</a></span></dt></dl></dd></dl></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="commandline"></a>1. Command-Line Options</h2></div></div></div><p>
Running <code class="literal">mutt</code> with no arguments will make Mutt attempt
to read your spool mailbox.  However, it is possible to read other
mailboxes and to send messages from the command line as well.
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-commandline-options"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.1. Command line options</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Command line options" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Option</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>-A</td><td>expand an alias</td></tr><tr><td>-a</td><td>attach a file to a message</td></tr><tr><td>-b</td><td>specify a blind carbon-copy (BCC) address</td></tr><tr><td>-c</td><td>specify a carbon-copy (Cc) address</td></tr><tr><td>-d</td><td>log debugging output to ~/.muttdebug0 if
mutt was compiled with +DEBUG; it can range from -5 to 5 and affects
verbosity. A value of 0 disables debugging. A value less than zero
disables automatic log file rotation. A value of 2 is recommended for
most diagnostics.</td></tr><tr><td>-D</td><td>print the value of all Mutt variables to stdout</td></tr><tr><td>-E</td><td>edit the draft (-H) or include (-i) file</td></tr><tr><td>-e</td><td>specify a config command to be run after initialization files are read</td></tr><tr><td>-f</td><td>specify a mailbox to load</td></tr><tr><td>-F</td><td>specify an alternate file to read initialization commands</td></tr><tr><td>-h</td><td>print help on command line options</td></tr><tr><td>-H</td><td>specify a draft file from which to read a header and body</td></tr><tr><td>-i</td><td>specify a file to include in a message composition</td></tr><tr><td>-m</td><td>specify a default mailbox type</td></tr><tr><td>-n</td><td>do not read the system Muttrc</td></tr><tr><td>-p</td><td>recall a postponed message</td></tr><tr><td>-Q</td><td>query a configuration variable</td></tr><tr><td>-R</td><td>open mailbox in read-only mode</td></tr><tr><td>-s</td><td>specify a subject (enclose in quotes if it contains spaces)</td></tr><tr><td>-v</td><td>show version number and compile-time definitions</td></tr><tr><td>-x</td><td>simulate the mailx(1) compose mode</td></tr><tr><td>-y</td><td>show a menu containing the files specified by the <span class="command"><strong>mailboxes</strong></span> command</td></tr><tr><td>-z</td><td>exit immediately if there are no messages in the mailbox</td></tr><tr><td>-Z</td><td>open the first folder with new message, exit immediately if none</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
To read messages in a mailbox
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">mutt</code>  [<code class="option">-nz</code>] [<code class="option">-F</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>muttrc</code></em>
] [<code class="option">-m</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>type</code></em>
] [<code class="option">-f</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
]</p></div><p>
To compose a new message
</p><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">mutt</code>  [<code class="option">-En</code>] [<code class="option">-F</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>muttrc</code></em>
] [<code class="option">-c</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>address</code></em>
] [<code class="option">-Hi</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>filename</code></em>
] [<code class="option">-s</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>subject</code></em>
] [
<code class="option">-a</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>file</code></em>
 [...]
--
]   
<em class="replaceable"><code>address</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailto_url</code></em>
 ... </p></div><p>
Mutt also supports a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">batch</span>”</span> mode to send prepared
messages.  Simply redirect input from the file you wish to send.  For
example,
</p><pre class="screen">
mutt -s "data set for run #2" professor@bigschool.edu &lt; ~/run2.dat</pre><p>
will send a message to
<code class="literal">&lt;professor@bigschool.edu&gt;</code> with a subject of
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">data set for run #2</span>”</span>.  In the body of the message will be
the contents of the file <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~/run2.dat</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
An include file passed with <code class="literal">-i</code> will be used as the
body of the message.  When combined with <code class="literal">-E</code>, the
include file will be directly edited during message composition.  The
file will be modified regardless of whether the message is sent or
aborted.
</p><p>
A draft file passed with <code class="literal">-H</code> will be used as the
initial header and body for the message.  Multipart messages can be
used as a draft file, and are processed the same in interactive and
batch mode; they are not passed through untouched.  For example,
encrypted draft files will be decrypted.  When combined with
<code class="literal">-E</code>, the draft file will be updated to the final
state of the message after composition, regardless of whether the
message is sent, aborted, or even postponed.  Note that if the message
is sent encrypted or signed, the draft file will be saved that way
too.
</p><p>

</p><p>
All files passed with <code class="literal">-a</code> <span class="emphasis"><em>file</em></span>
will be attached as a MIME part to the message. To attach a single or
several files, use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">--</span>”</span> to separate files and recipient
addresses:
</p><pre class="screen">
mutt -a image.png -- some@one.org</pre><p>
or
</p><pre class="screen">
mutt -a *.png -- some@one.org</pre><div class="note"><h3 class="title">Note</h3><p>
The <code class="literal">-a</code> option must be last in the option list.
</p></div><p>
In addition to accepting a list of email addresses, Mutt also accepts a URL with
the <code class="literal">mailto:</code> schema as specified in RFC2368.  This is useful
when configuring a web browser to launch Mutt when clicking on mailto links.
</p><pre class="screen">
mutt mailto:some@one.org?subject=test&amp;cc=other@one.org</pre></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="commands"></a>2. Configuration Commands</h2></div></div></div><p>
The following are the commands understood by Mutt:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#account-hook" title="7. Managing Multiple Accounts">account-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#alias" title="5. Defining/Using Aliases">alias</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>address</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>address</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#alias" title="5. Defining/Using Aliases">unalias</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses">alternates</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses">unalternates</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#alternative-order" title="5. MIME Multipart/Alternative">alternative_order</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#alternative-order" title="5. MIME Multipart/Alternative">unalternative_order</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#attachments" title="6. Attachment Searching and Counting">attachments</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>{ + | - }disposition</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mime-type</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#attachments" title="6. Attachment Searching and Counting">unattachments</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>{ + | - }disposition</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mime-type</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#attachments" title="6. Attachment Searching and Counting">attachments</a></code>   <code class="option">?</code> <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#attachments" title="6. Attachment Searching and Counting">unattachments</a></code>   <code class="option">*</code> </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview">auto_view</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview">unauto_view</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#bind" title="6. Changing the Default Key Bindings">bind</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>map</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>function</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#cd" title="7. Changing the current working directory">cd</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#charset-hook" title="8. Defining Aliases for Character Sets">charset-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>alias</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>charset</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#charset-hook" title="8. Defining Aliases for Character Sets">iconv-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>charset</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>local-charset</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#color" title="11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes">color</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>object</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>foreground</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>background</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#color" title="11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes">color</a></code>  { 
<code class="option">header</code>
  |   
<code class="option">body</code>
 } [
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>foreground</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>background</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#color" title="11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes">color</a></code>   
<code class="option">index</code>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>foreground</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>background</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#color" title="11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes">color</a></code>   
<code class="option">compose</code>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>composeobject</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>foreground</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>background</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#color" title="11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes">uncolor</a></code>  { 
<code class="option">index</code>
  |   
<code class="option">header</code>
  |   
<code class="option">body</code>
 } { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#crypt-hook" title="23. Choosing the Cryptographic Key of the Recipient">crypt-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>keyid</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#echo" title="17. Echoing Text">echo</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>message</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#exec" title="26. Executing Functions">exec</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>function</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>function</code></em>
...]</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#fcc-save-hook" title="20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once">fcc-save-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#folder-hook" title="9. Setting Variables Based Upon Mailbox">folder-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]regexp</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#addrgroup" title="4. Address Groups">group</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<code class="option">-rx</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em>
...  |   
<code class="option">-addr</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em>
... }<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#addrgroup" title="4. Address Groups">ungroup</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<code class="option">-rx</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em>
...  |   
<code class="option">-addr</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#hdr-order" title="12.3. Ordering Displayed Headers">hdr_order</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>header</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>header</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#hdr-order" title="12.3. Ordering Displayed Headers">unhdr_order</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>header</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#ignore" title="12.2. Selecting Headers">ignore</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#ignore" title="12.2. Selecting Headers">unignore</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#index-format-hook" title="24. Dynamically Changing $index_format using Patterns">index-format-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>format-string</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists">lists</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists">unlists</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#macro" title="10. Keyboard Macros">macro</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>menu</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>sequence</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>description</code></em>
]</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail">mailboxes</a></code>  [
  [ 
      <code class="option">-notify</code>
      |   
      <code class="option">-nonotify</code>
     ]
   [ 
      <code class="option">-poll</code>
      |   
      <code class="option">-nopoll</code>
     ]
   [ 
      <code class="option">-label</code>
      <em class="replaceable"><code>label</code></em>
      |   
      <code class="option">-nolabel</code>
     ]
    
    <em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
   
] [...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail">unmailboxes</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mailto-allow" title="33. Control allowed header fields in a mailto: URL">mailto_allow</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>header-field</code></em>
... }<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mailto-allow" title="33. Control allowed header fields in a mailto: URL">unmailto_allow</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>header-field</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mbox-hook" title="15. Using Multiple Spool Mailboxes">mbox-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]regexp</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#message-hook" title="22. Change Settings Before Formatting a Message">message-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mime-lookup" title="7. MIME Lookup">mime_lookup</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mime-lookup" title="7. MIME Lookup">unmime_lookup</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mimetype</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mono">mono</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>object</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mono">mono</a></code>  { 
<code class="option">header</code>
  |   
<code class="option">body</code>
 }  
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mono">mono</a></code>   
<code class="option">index</code>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mono">mono</a></code>   
<code class="option">compose</code>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>composeobject</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>attribute</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#mono">unmono</a></code>  { 
<code class="option">index</code>
  |   
<code class="option">header</code>
  |   
<code class="option">body</code>
 } { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>string</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">unmy_hdr</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>field</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#push" title="25. Adding Key Sequences to the Keyboard Buffer">push</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>string</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#reply-hook">reply-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#run" title="20.1. Running a command generated by MuttLisp">run</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>MuttLisp</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#save-hook" title="18. Specify Default Save Mailbox">save-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#score-command" title="27. Message Scoring">score</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#score-command" title="27. Message Scoring">unscore</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients">send-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#send2-hook">send2-hook</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>[!]pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>command</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#set" title="29. Setting and Querying Variables">set</a></code>  { 
[ <code class="option">no</code>  |   <code class="option">inv</code> ]
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable=value</code></em>
 } [...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#set" title="29. Setting and Querying Variables">toggle</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#set" title="29. Setting and Querying Variables">unset</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#set" title="29. Setting and Querying Variables">reset</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
...]</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#setenv" title="7. Managing the Environment">setenv</a></code>   
      <em class="replaceable"><code>[?]variable</code></em>
      [
      <em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em>
    ]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#setenv" title="7. Managing the Environment">unsetenv</a></code>   
      <em class="replaceable"><code>variable</code></em>
     </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#sidebar-whitelist" title="11.4. Commands">sidebar_whitelist</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#sidebar-whitelist" title="11.4. Commands">unsidebar_whitelist</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>mailbox</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#source" title="30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File">source</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>filename</code></em>
 </p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#spam" title="28. Spam Detection">spam</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>format</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#spam" title="28. Spam Detection">nospam</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
 }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#display-munging" title="12. Display Munging">subjectrx</a></code>   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
   
<em class="replaceable"><code>replacement</code></em>
 <br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#display-munging" title="12. Display Munging">unsubjectrx</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>pattern</code></em>
 }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#subscribe">subscribe</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...]  
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
  [
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
...]<br /><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#subscribe">unsubscribe</a></code>  [
<code class="option">-group</code>
<em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em>
...] { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>regexp</code></em>
... }</p></div></li><li class="listitem"><div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command"><a class="link" href="#unhook" title="31. Removing Hooks">unhook</a></code>  { 
<em class="replaceable"><code>*</code></em>
  |   
<em class="replaceable"><code>hook-type</code></em>
 }</p></div></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="variables"></a>3. Configuration Variables</h2></div></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="abort-noattach"></a>3.1. abort_noattach</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When the body of the message matches <a class="link" href="#abort-noattach-regexp" title="3.2. abort_noattach_regexp">$abort_noattach_regexp</a> and
there are no attachments, this quadoption controls whether to
abort sending the message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="abort-noattach-regexp"></a>3.2. abort_noattach_regexp</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: regular expression<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">attach</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Specifies a regular expression to match against the body of the
message, to determine if an attachment was mentioned but
mistakenly forgotten.  If it matches, <a class="link" href="#abort-noattach" title="3.1. abort_noattach">$abort_noattach</a> will be
consulted to determine if message sending will be aborted.
</p><p>
Like other regular expressions in Mutt, the search is case
sensitive if the pattern contains at least one upper case letter,
and case insensitive otherwise.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="abort-nosubject"></a>3.3. abort_nosubject</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
If set to <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span>, when composing messages and no subject is given
at the subject prompt, composition will be aborted.  If set to
<span class="emphasis"><em>no</em></span>, composing messages with no subject given at the subject
prompt will never be aborted.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="abort-unmodified"></a>3.4. abort_unmodified</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If set to <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span>, composition will automatically abort after
editing the message body if no changes are made to the file (this
check only happens after the <span class="emphasis"><em>first</em></span> edit of the file).  When set
to <span class="emphasis"><em>no</em></span>, composition will never be aborted.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="alias-file"></a>3.5. alias_file</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/.muttrc</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
The default file in which to save aliases created by the
<code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#create-alias">&lt;create-alias&gt;</a></code> function. Entries added to this file are
encoded in the character set specified by <a class="link" href="#config-charset" title="3.47. config_charset">$config_charset</a> if it
is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> or the current character set otherwise.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> Mutt will not automatically source this file; you must
explicitly use the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#source" title="30. Reading Initialization Commands From Another File">source</a></span>”</span> command for it to be executed in case
this option points to a dedicated alias file.
</p><p>
The default for this option is the currently used muttrc file, or
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~/.muttrc</span>”</span> if no user muttrc was found.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="alias-format"></a>3.6. alias_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%4n %2f %t %-10a   %r</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Specifies the format of the data displayed for the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#alias" title="5. Defining/Using Aliases">alias</a></span>”</span> menu.  The
following <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-style sequences are available:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%a </td><td>alias name
</td></tr><tr><td>%f </td><td>flags - currently, a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">d</span>”</span> for an alias marked for deletion
</td></tr><tr><td>%n </td><td>index number
</td></tr><tr><td>%r </td><td>address which alias expands to
</td></tr><tr><td>%t </td><td>character which indicates if the alias is tagged for inclusion
</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="allow-8bit"></a>3.7. allow_8bit</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether 8-bit data is converted to 7-bit using either Quoted-
Printable or Base64 encoding when sending mail.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="allow-ansi"></a>3.8. allow_ansi</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls whether ANSI color codes in messages (and color tags in
rich text messages) are to be interpreted.
Messages containing these codes are rare, but if this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>,
their text will be colored accordingly. Note that this may override
your color choices, and even present a security problem, since a
message could include a line like

</p><pre class="screen">
[-- PGP output follows ...
</pre><p>
and give it the same color as your attachment color (see also
<a class="link" href="#crypt-timestamp" title="3.70. crypt_timestamp">$crypt_timestamp</a>).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="arrow-cursor"></a>3.9. arrow_cursor</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, an arrow (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-&gt;</span>”</span>) will be used to indicate the current entry
in menus instead of highlighting the whole line.  On slow network or modem
links this will make response faster because there is less that has to
be redrawn on the screen when moving to the next or previous entries
in the menu.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ascii-chars"></a>3.10. ascii_chars</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will use plain ASCII characters when displaying thread
and attachment trees, instead of the default <span class="emphasis"><em>ACS</em></span> characters.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="askbcc"></a>3.11. askbcc</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will prompt you for blind-carbon-copy (Bcc) recipients
before editing an outgoing message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="askcc"></a>3.12. askcc</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will prompt you for carbon-copy (Cc) recipients before
editing the body of an outgoing message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="assumed-charset"></a>3.13. assumed_charset</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable is a colon-separated list of character encoding
schemes for messages without character encoding indication.
Header field values and message body content without character encoding
indication would be assumed that they are written in one of this list.
By default, all the header fields and message body without any charset
indication are assumed to be in <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">us-ascii</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
For example, Japanese users might prefer this:

</p><pre class="screen">
set assumed_charset="iso-2022-jp:euc-jp:shift_jis:utf-8"
</pre><p>
However, only the first content is valid for the message body.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attach-charset"></a>3.14. attach_charset</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable is a colon-separated list of character encoding
schemes for text file attachments. Mutt uses this setting to guess
which encoding files being attached are encoded in to convert them to
a proper character set given in <a class="link" href="#send-charset" title="3.300. send_charset">$send_charset</a>.
</p><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, the value of <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">$charset</a> will be used instead.
For example, the following configuration would work for Japanese
text handling:

</p><pre class="screen">
set attach_charset="iso-2022-jp:euc-jp:shift_jis:utf-8"
</pre><p>
Note: for Japanese users, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">iso-2022-*</span>”</span> must be put at the head
of the value as shown above if included.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attach-format"></a>3.15. attach_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%u%D%I %t%4n %T%.40d%&gt; [%.7m/%.10M, %.6e%?C?, %C?, %s] </code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable describes the format of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">attachment</span>”</span> menu.  The
following <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-style sequences are understood:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%C  </td><td>charset
</td></tr><tr><td>%c  </td><td>requires charset conversion (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">n</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">c</span>”</span>)
</td></tr><tr><td>%D  </td><td>deleted flag
</td></tr><tr><td>%d  </td><td>description (if none, falls back to %F)
</td></tr><tr><td>%e  </td><td>MIME content-transfer-encoding
</td></tr><tr><td>%F  </td><td>filename in content-disposition header (if none, falls back to %f)
</td></tr><tr><td>%f  </td><td>filename
</td></tr><tr><td>%I  </td><td>disposition (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">I</span>”</span> for inline, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">A</span>”</span> for attachment)
</td></tr><tr><td>%m  </td><td>major MIME type
</td></tr><tr><td>%M  </td><td>MIME subtype
</td></tr><tr><td>%n  </td><td>attachment number
</td></tr><tr><td>%Q  </td><td><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Q</span>”</span>, if MIME part qualifies for attachment counting
</td></tr><tr><td>%s  </td><td>size (see <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>)
</td></tr><tr><td>%t  </td><td>tagged flag
</td></tr><tr><td>%T  </td><td>graphic tree characters
</td></tr><tr><td>%u  </td><td>unlink (=to delete) flag
</td></tr><tr><td>%X  </td><td>number of qualifying MIME parts in this part and its children
(please see the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#attachments" title="6. Attachment Searching and Counting">attachments</a></span>”</span> section for possible speed effects)
</td></tr><tr><td>%&gt;X </td><td>right justify the rest of the string and pad with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%|X </td><td>pad to the end of the line with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%*X </td><td>soft-fill with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span> as pad
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
For an explanation of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">soft-fill</span>”</span>, see the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> documentation.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attach-save-charset-convert"></a>3.16. attach_save_charset_convert</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
When saving received text-type attachments, this quadoption
prompts to convert the character set if the encoding of the
attachment (or <a class="link" href="#assumed-charset" title="3.13. assumed_charset">$assumed_charset</a> if none is specified) differs
from <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">charset</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attach-save-dir"></a>3.17. attach_save_dir</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The default directory to save attachments from the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">attachment</span>”</span> menu.
If it doesn't exist, Mutt will prompt to create the directory before
saving.
</p><p>
If the path is invalid (e.g. not a directory, or cannot be
chdir'ed to), Mutt will fall back to using the current directory.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attach-sep"></a>3.18. attach_sep</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">\n</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
The separator to add between attachments when operating (saving,
printing, piping, etc) on a list of tagged attachments.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attach-split"></a>3.19. attach_split</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, when operating (saving, printing, piping,
etc) on a list of tagged attachments, Mutt will concatenate the
attachments and will operate on them as a single attachment. The
<a class="link" href="#attach-sep" title="3.18. attach_sep">$attach_sep</a> separator is added after each attachment. When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>,
Mutt will operate on the attachments one by one.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attribution"></a>3.20. attribution</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string (localized)<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">On %d, %n wrote:</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This is the string that will precede a message which has been included
in a reply.  For a full listing of defined <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences see
the section on <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attribution-locale"></a>3.21. attribution_locale</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The locale used by <code class="literal">strftime(3)</code> to format dates in the
<a class="link" href="#attribution" title="3.20. attribution">attribution</a> string.  Legal values are the strings your system
accepts for the locale environment variable <code class="literal">$LC_TIME</code>.
</p><p>
This variable is to allow the attribution date format to be
customized by recipient or folder using hooks.  By default, Mutt
will use your locale environment, so there is no need to set
this except to override that default.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="auto-subscribe"></a>3.22. auto_subscribe</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt assumes the presence of a List-Post header
means the recipient is subscribed to the list.  Unless the mailing list
is in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unsubscribe</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unlist</span>”</span> lists, it will be added
to the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#subscribe">subscribe</a></span>”</span> list.  Parsing and checking these things slows
header reading down, so this option is disabled by default.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="auto-tag"></a>3.23. auto_tag</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, functions in the <span class="emphasis"><em>index</em></span> menu which affect a message
will be applied to all tagged messages (if there are any).  When
unset, you must first use the <code class="literal">&lt;tag-prefix&gt;</code> function (bound to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">;</span>”</span>
by default) to make the next function apply to all tagged messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocrypt"></a>3.24. autocrypt</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, enables autocrypt, which provides
passive encryption protection with keys exchanged via headers.
See <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#autocryptdoc" title="13. Autocrypt">autocryptdoc</a></span>”</span> for more details.
(Autocrypt only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocrypt-acct-format"></a>3.25. autocrypt_acct_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%4n %-30a %20p %10s</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable describes the format of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">autocrypt account</span>”</span> menu.
The following <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-style sequences are understood

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%a  </td><td>email address
</td></tr><tr><td>%k  </td><td>gpg keyid
</td></tr><tr><td>%n  </td><td>current entry number
</td></tr><tr><td>%p  </td><td>prefer-encrypt flag
</td></tr><tr><td>%s  </td><td>status flag (active/inactive)
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
(Autocrypt only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocrypt-dir"></a>3.26. autocrypt_dir</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/.mutt/autocrypt</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable sets where autocrypt files are stored, including the GPG
keyring and sqlite database.  See <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#autocryptdoc" title="13. Autocrypt">autocryptdoc</a></span>”</span> for more details.
(Autocrypt only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocrypt-reply"></a>3.27. autocrypt_reply</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, replying to an autocrypt email automatically
enables autocrypt in the reply.  You may want to unset this if you're using
the same key for autocrypt as normal web-of-trust, so that autocrypt
isn't forced on for all encrypted replies.
(Autocrypt only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autoedit"></a>3.28. autoedit</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> along with <a class="link" href="#edit-headers" title="3.84. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a>, Mutt will skip the initial
send-menu (prompting for subject and recipients) and allow you to
immediately begin editing the body of your
message.  The send-menu may still be accessed once you have finished
editing the body of your message.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> when this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, you cannot use send-hooks that depend
on the recipients when composing a new (non-reply) message, as the initial
list of recipients is empty.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#fast-reply" title="3.91. fast_reply">$fast_reply</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="background-edit"></a>3.29. background_edit</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will run <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a> in the background during
message composition.  A landing page will display, waiting for
the <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a> to exit.  The landing page may be exited, allowing
perusal of the mailbox, or even for other messages to be
composed.  Backgrounded sessions may be returned to via the
<code class="literal">&lt;background-compose-menu&gt;</code> function.
</p><p>
For background editing to work properly, <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a> must be set to
an editor that does not try to use the Mutt terminal: for example
a graphical editor, or a script launching (and waiting for) the
editor in another Gnu Screen window.
</p><p>
For more details, see <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#bgedit" title="6.5. Background Editing">bgedit</a></span>”</span> ("Background Editing" in the manual).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="background-confirm-quit"></a>3.30. background_confirm_quit</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, if there are any background edit sessions, you
will be prompted to confirm exiting Mutt, in addition to the
<a class="link" href="#quit" title="3.271. quit">$quit</a> prompt.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="background-format"></a>3.31. background_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%10S %7p %s</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable describes the format of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">background compose</span>”</span>
menu.  The following <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-style sequences are
understood:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%i </td><td>parent message id (for replies and forwarded messages)
</td></tr><tr><td>%n </td><td>the running number on the menu
</td></tr><tr><td>%p </td><td>pid of the <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a> process
</td></tr><tr><td>%r </td><td>comma separated list of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To:</span>”</span> recipients
</td></tr><tr><td>%R </td><td>comma separated list of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc:</span>”</span> recipients
</td></tr><tr><td>%s </td><td>subject of the message
</td></tr><tr><td>%S </td><td>status of the <a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a> process: running/finished
</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="beep"></a>3.32. beep</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will beep when an error occurs.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="beep-new"></a>3.33. beep_new</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will beep whenever it prints a message
notifying you of new mail.  This is independent of the setting of the
<a class="link" href="#beep" title="3.32. beep">$beep</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="bounce"></a>3.34. bounce</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether you will be asked to confirm bouncing messages.
If set to <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span> you don't get asked if you want to bounce a
message. Setting this variable to <span class="emphasis"><em>no</em></span> is not generally useful,
and thus not recommended, because you are unable to bounce messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="bounce-delivered"></a>3.35. bounce_delivered</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will include Delivered-To headers when
bouncing messages.  Postfix users may wish to <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> this variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="braille-friendly"></a>3.36. braille_friendly</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will place the cursor at the beginning
of the current line in menus, even when the <a class="link" href="#arrow-cursor" title="3.9. arrow_cursor">$arrow_cursor</a> variable
is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, making it easier for blind persons using Braille displays to
follow these menus.  The option is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> by default because many
visual terminals don't permit making the cursor invisible.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="browser-abbreviate-mailboxes"></a>3.37. browser_abbreviate_mailboxes</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will abbreviate mailbox
names in the browser mailbox list, using '~' and '='
shortcuts.
</p><p>
The default <code class="literal">"alpha"</code> setting of <a class="link" href="#sort-browser" title="3.360. sort_browser">$sort_browser</a> uses
locale-based sorting (using <code class="literal">strcoll(3)</code>), which ignores some
punctuation.  This can lead to some situations where the order
doesn't make intuitive sense.  In those cases, it may be
desirable to <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> this variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="browser-sticky-cursor"></a>3.38. browser_sticky_cursor</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the browser will attempt to keep
the cursor on the same mailbox when performing various functions.
These include moving up a directory, toggling between mailboxes
and directory listing, creating/renaming a mailbox, toggling
subscribed mailboxes, and entering a new mask.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="certificate-file"></a>3.39. certificate_file</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/.mutt_certificates</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable specifies the file where the certificates you trust
are saved. When an unknown certificate is encountered, you are asked
if you accept it or not. If you accept it, the certificate can also
be saved in this file and further connections are automatically
accepted.
</p><p>
You can also manually add CA certificates in this file. Any server
certificate that is signed with one of these CA certificates is
also automatically accepted.
</p><p>
Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set certificate_file=~/.mutt/certificates
</pre><p>
(OpenSSL and GnuTLS only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="change-folder-next"></a>3.40. change_folder_next</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the <code class="literal">&lt;change-folder&gt;</code> function
mailbox suggestion will start at the next folder in your <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail">mailboxes</a></span>”</span>
list, instead of starting at the first folder in the list.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="charset"></a>3.41. charset</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Character set your terminal uses to display and enter textual data.
It is also the fallback for <a class="link" href="#send-charset" title="3.300. send_charset">$send_charset</a>.
</p><p>
Upon startup Mutt tries to derive this value from environment variables
such as <code class="literal">$LC_CTYPE</code> or <code class="literal">$LANG</code>.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> It should only be set in case Mutt isn't able to determine the
character set used correctly.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="check-mbox-size"></a>3.42. check_mbox_size</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will use file size attribute instead of
access time when checking for new mail in mbox and mmdf folders.
</p><p>
This variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> by default and should only be enabled when
new mail detection for these folder types is unreliable or doesn't work.
</p><p>
Note that enabling this variable should happen before any <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail">mailboxes</a></span>”</span>
directives occur in configuration files regarding mbox or mmdf folders
because mutt needs to determine the initial new mail status of such a
mailbox by performing a fast mailbox scan when it is defined.
Afterwards the new mail status is tracked by file size changes.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="check-new"></a>3.43. check_new</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> this option only affects <span class="emphasis"><em>maildir</em></span> and <span class="emphasis"><em>MH</em></span> style
mailboxes.
</p><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will check for new mail delivered while the
mailbox is open.  Especially with MH mailboxes, this operation can
take quite some time since it involves scanning the directory and
checking each file to see if it has already been looked at.  If
this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, no check for new mail is performed
while the mailbox is open.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="collapse-unread"></a>3.44. collapse_unread</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will not collapse a thread if it contains any
unread messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="compose-confirm-detach-first"></a>3.45. compose_confirm_detach_first</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when trying to
use <code class="literal">&lt;detach-file&gt;</code> on the first entry in the compose menu.
This is to help prevent irreversible loss of the typed message by
accidentally hitting 'D' in the menu.
</p><p>
Note: Mutt only prompts for the first entry.  It doesn't keep
track of which message is the typed message if the entries are
reordered, or if the first entry was already deleted.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="compose-format"></a>3.46. compose_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string (localized)<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">-- Mutt: Compose  [Approx. msg size: %l   Atts: %a]%&gt;-</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Controls the format of the status line displayed in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">compose</span>”</span>
menu.  This string is similar to <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a>, but has its own
set of <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%a </td><td>total number of attachments
</td></tr><tr><td>%h </td><td>local hostname
</td></tr><tr><td>%l </td><td>approximate size (in bytes) of the current message (see <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>)
</td></tr><tr><td>%v </td><td>Mutt version string
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
See the text describing the <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a> option for more
information on how to set <a class="link" href="#compose-format" title="3.46. compose_format">$compose_format</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="config-charset"></a>3.47. config_charset</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
When defined, Mutt will recode commands in rc files from this
encoding to the current character set as specified by <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">$charset</a>
and aliases written to <a class="link" href="#alias-file" title="3.5. alias_file">$alias_file</a> from the current character set.
</p><p>
Please note that if setting <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">$charset</a> it must be done before
setting <a class="link" href="#config-charset" title="3.47. config_charset">$config_charset</a>.
</p><p>
Recoding should be avoided as it may render unconvertable
characters as question marks which can lead to undesired
side effects (for example in regular expressions).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="confirmappend"></a>3.48. confirmappend</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when appending messages to
an existing mailbox.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="confirmcreate"></a>3.49. confirmcreate</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will prompt for confirmation when saving messages to a
mailbox which does not yet exist before creating it.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="connect-timeout"></a>3.50. connect_timeout</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 30</p></div><p>
Causes Mutt to timeout a network connection (for IMAP, POP or SMTP) after this
many seconds if the connection is not able to be established.  A negative
value causes Mutt to wait indefinitely for the connection attempt to succeed.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="content-type"></a>3.51. content_type</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">text/plain</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Sets the default Content-Type for the body of newly composed messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="copy"></a>3.52. copy</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable controls whether or not copies of your outgoing messages
will be saved for later references.  Also see <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a>,
<a class="link" href="#save-name" title="3.294. save_name">$save_name</a>, <a class="link" href="#force-name" title="3.100. force_name">$force_name</a> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a></span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="copy-decode-weed"></a>3.53. copy_decode_weed</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls whether Mutt will weed headers when invoking the
<code class="literal">&lt;decode-copy&gt;</code> or <code class="literal">&lt;decode-save&gt;</code> functions.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="count-alternatives"></a>3.54. count_alternatives</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will recurse inside multipart/alternatives while
performing attachment searching and counting (see <a class="link" href="#attachments" title="6. Attachment Searching and Counting">attachments</a>).
</p><p>
Traditionally, multipart/alternative parts have simply represented
different encodings of the main content of the email.  Unfortunately,
some mail clients have started to place email attachments inside
one of alternatives.  Setting this will allow Mutt to find
and count matching attachments hidden there, and include them
in the index via %X or through ~X pattern matching.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="cursor-overlay"></a>3.55. cursor_overlay</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will overlay the indicator, tree,
sidebar_highlight, and sidebar_indicator colors onto the currently
selected line.  This will allow <code class="literal">default</code> colors in those
to be overridden, and for attributes to be merged between
the layers.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-autoencrypt"></a>3.56. crypt_autoencrypt</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to PGP
encrypt outgoing messages.  This is probably only useful in
connection to the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients">send-hook</a></span>”</span> command.  It can be overridden
by use of the pgp menu, when encryption is not required or
signing is requested as well.  If <a class="link" href="#smime-is-default" title="3.342. smime_is_default">$smime_is_default</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>,
then OpenSSL is used instead to create S/MIME messages and
settings can be overridden by use of the smime menu instead.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-autopgp"></a>3.57. crypt_autopgp</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable controls whether or not mutt may automatically enable
PGP encryption/signing for messages.  See also <a class="link" href="#crypt-autoencrypt" title="3.56. crypt_autoencrypt">$crypt_autoencrypt</a>,
<a class="link" href="#crypt-replyencrypt" title="3.67. crypt_replyencrypt">$crypt_replyencrypt</a>,
<a class="link" href="#crypt-autosign" title="3.58. crypt_autosign">$crypt_autosign</a>, <a class="link" href="#crypt-replysign" title="3.68. crypt_replysign">$crypt_replysign</a> and <a class="link" href="#smime-is-default" title="3.342. smime_is_default">$smime_is_default</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-autosign"></a>3.58. crypt_autosign</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to
cryptographically sign outgoing messages.  This can be overridden
by use of the pgp menu, when signing is not required or
encryption is requested as well. If <a class="link" href="#smime-is-default" title="3.342. smime_is_default">$smime_is_default</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>,
then OpenSSL is used instead to create S/MIME messages and settings can
be overridden by use of the smime menu instead of the pgp menu.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-autosmime"></a>3.59. crypt_autosmime</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable controls whether or not mutt may automatically enable
S/MIME encryption/signing for messages. See also <a class="link" href="#crypt-autoencrypt" title="3.56. crypt_autoencrypt">$crypt_autoencrypt</a>,
<a class="link" href="#crypt-replyencrypt" title="3.67. crypt_replyencrypt">$crypt_replyencrypt</a>,
<a class="link" href="#crypt-autosign" title="3.58. crypt_autosign">$crypt_autosign</a>, <a class="link" href="#crypt-replysign" title="3.68. crypt_replysign">$crypt_replysign</a> and <a class="link" href="#smime-is-default" title="3.342. smime_is_default">$smime_is_default</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-confirmhook"></a>3.60. crypt_confirmhook</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If set, then you will be prompted for confirmation of keys when using
the <span class="emphasis"><em>crypt-hook</em></span> command.  If unset, no such confirmation prompt will
be presented.  This is generally considered unsafe, especially where
typos are concerned.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-opportunistic-encrypt"></a>3.61. crypt_opportunistic_encrypt</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Setting this variable will cause Mutt to automatically enable and
disable encryption, based on whether all message recipient keys
can be located by Mutt.
</p><p>
When this option is enabled, Mutt will enable/disable encryption
each time the TO, CC, and BCC lists are edited.  If
<a class="link" href="#edit-headers" title="3.84. edit_headers">$edit_headers</a> is set, Mutt will also do so each time the message
is edited.
</p><p>
While this is set, encryption can't be manually enabled/disabled.
The pgp or smime menus provide a selection to temporarily disable
this option for the current message.
</p><p>
If <a class="link" href="#crypt-autoencrypt" title="3.56. crypt_autoencrypt">$crypt_autoencrypt</a> or <a class="link" href="#crypt-replyencrypt" title="3.67. crypt_replyencrypt">$crypt_replyencrypt</a> enable encryption for
a message, this option will be disabled for that message.  It can
be manually re-enabled in the pgp or smime menus.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-opportunistic-encrypt-strong-keys"></a>3.62. crypt_opportunistic_encrypt_strong_keys</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When set, this modifies the behavior of <a class="link" href="#crypt-opportunistic-encrypt" title="3.61. crypt_opportunistic_encrypt">$crypt_opportunistic_encrypt</a>
to only search for "strong keys", that is, keys with full validity
according to the web-of-trust algorithm.  A key with marginal or no
validity will not enable opportunistic encryption.
</p><p>
For S/MIME, the behavior depends on the backend.  Classic S/MIME will
filter for certificates with the 't' (trusted) flag in the .index file.
The GPGME backend will use the same filters as with OpenPGP, and depends
on GPGME's logic for assigning the GPGME_VALIDITY_FULL and
GPGME_VALIDITY_ULTIMATE validity flag.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-protected-headers-read"></a>3.63. crypt_protected_headers_read</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When set, Mutt will display protected headers in the pager,
and will update the index and header cache with revised headers.
Protected headers are stored inside the encrypted or signed part of an
an email, to prevent disclosure or tampering.
For more information see https://github.com/autocrypt/protected-headers.
Currently Mutt only supports the Subject header.
</p><p>
Encrypted messages using protected headers often substitute the exposed
Subject header with a dummy value (see <a class="link" href="#crypt-protected-headers-subject" title="3.65. crypt_protected_headers_subject">$crypt_protected_headers_subject</a>).
Mutt will update its concept of the correct subject <span class="bold"><strong>after</strong></span> the
message is opened, i.e. via the <code class="literal">&lt;display-message&gt;</code> function.
If you reply to a message before opening it, Mutt will end up using
the dummy Subject header, so be sure to open such a message first.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-protected-headers-save"></a>3.64. crypt_protected_headers_save</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <a class="link" href="#crypt-protected-headers-read" title="3.63. crypt_protected_headers_read">$crypt_protected_headers_read</a> is set, and a message with a
protected Subject is opened, Mutt will save the updated Subject
into the header cache by default.  This allows searching/limiting
based on the protected Subject header if the mailbox is
re-opened, without having to re-open the message each time.
However, for mbox/mh mailbox types, or if header caching is not
set up, you would need to re-open the message each time the
mailbox was reopened before you could see or search/limit on the
protected subject again.
</p><p>
When this variable is set, Mutt additionally saves the protected
Subject back <span class="bold"><strong>in the clear-text message headers</strong></span>.  This
provides better usability, but with the tradeoff of reduced
security.  The protected Subject header, which may have
previously been encrypted, is now stored in clear-text in the
message headers.  Copying the message elsewhere, via Mutt or
external tools, could expose this previously encrypted data.
Please make sure you understand the consequences of this before
you enable this variable.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-protected-headers-subject"></a>3.65. crypt_protected_headers_subject</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">...</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
When <a class="link" href="#crypt-protected-headers-write" title="3.66. crypt_protected_headers_write">$crypt_protected_headers_write</a> is set, and the message is marked
for encryption, this will be substituted into the Subject field in the
message headers.
To prevent a subject from being substituted, unset this variable, or set it
to the empty string.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-protected-headers-write"></a>3.66. crypt_protected_headers_write</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When set, Mutt will generate protected headers for signed and
encrypted emails.
Protected headers are stored inside the encrypted or signed part of an
an email, to prevent disclosure or tampering.
For more information see https://github.com/autocrypt/protected-headers.
Currently Mutt only supports the Subject header.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-replyencrypt"></a>3.67. crypt_replyencrypt</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, automatically PGP or OpenSSL encrypt replies to messages which are
encrypted.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-replysign"></a>3.68. crypt_replysign</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, automatically PGP or OpenSSL sign replies to messages which are
signed.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> this does not work on messages that are encrypted
<span class="emphasis"><em>and</em></span> signed!
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-replysignencrypted"></a>3.69. crypt_replysignencrypted</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, automatically PGP or OpenSSL sign replies to messages
which are encrypted. This makes sense in combination with
<a class="link" href="#crypt-replyencrypt" title="3.67. crypt_replyencrypt">$crypt_replyencrypt</a>, because it allows you to sign all
messages which are automatically encrypted.  This works around
the problem noted in <a class="link" href="#crypt-replysign" title="3.68. crypt_replysign">$crypt_replysign</a>, that mutt is not able
to find out whether an encrypted message is also signed.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-timestamp"></a>3.70. crypt_timestamp</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will include a time stamp in the lines surrounding
PGP or S/MIME output, so spoofing such lines is more difficult.
If you are using colors to mark these lines, and rely on these,
you may <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> this setting.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-use-gpgme"></a>3.71. crypt_use_gpgme</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This variable controls the use of the GPGME-enabled crypto backends.
If it is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> and Mutt was built with gpgme support, the gpgme code for
S/MIME and PGP will be used instead of the classic code.  Note that
you need to set this option in .muttrc; it won't have any effect when
used interactively.
</p><p>
Note that the GPGME backend does not support creating old-style inline
(traditional) PGP encrypted or signed messages (see <a class="link" href="#pgp-autoinline" title="3.211. pgp_autoinline">$pgp_autoinline</a>).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-use-pka"></a>3.72. crypt_use_pka</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls whether mutt uses PKA
(see http://www.g10code.de/docs/pka-intro.de.pdf) during signature
verification (only supported by the GPGME backend).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="crypt-verify-sig"></a>3.73. crypt_verify_sig</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">yes</span>”</span></em></span>, always attempt to verify PGP or S/MIME signatures.
If <span class="emphasis"><em><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ask-*</span>”</span></em></span>, ask whether or not to verify the signature.
If <span class="emphasis"><em><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no</span>”</span></em></span>, never attempt to verify cryptographic signatures.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="date-format"></a>3.74. date_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">!%a, %b %d, %Y at %I:%M:%S%p %Z</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable controls the format of the date printed by the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%d</span>”</span>
sequence in <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>.  This is passed to the <code class="literal">strftime(3)</code>
function to process the date, see the man page for the proper syntax.
</p><p>
Unless the first character in the string is a bang (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">!</span>”</span>), the month
and week day names are expanded according to the locale.
If the first character in the string is a
bang, the bang is discarded, and the month and week day names in the
rest of the string are expanded in the <span class="emphasis"><em>C</em></span> locale (that is in US
English).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="default-hook"></a>3.75. default_hook</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~f %s !~P | (~P ~C %s)</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable controls how <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#message-hook" title="22. Change Settings Before Formatting a Message">message-hook</a></span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#reply-hook">reply-hook</a></span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients">send-hook</a></span>”</span>,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#send2-hook">send2-hook</a></span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#save-hook" title="18. Specify Default Save Mailbox">save-hook</a></span>”</span>, and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a></span>”</span> will
be interpreted if they are specified with only a simple regexp,
instead of a matching pattern.  The hooks are expanded when they are
declared, so a hook will be interpreted according to the value of this
variable at the time the hook is declared.
</p><p>
The default value matches
if the message is either from a user matching the regular expression
given, or if it is from you (if the from address matches
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses">alternates</a></span>”</span>) and is to or cc'ed to a user matching the given
regular expression.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="delete"></a>3.76. delete</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not messages are really deleted when closing or
synchronizing a mailbox.  If set to <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span>, messages marked for
deleting will automatically be purged without prompting.  If set to
<span class="emphasis"><em>no</em></span>, messages marked for deletion will be kept in the mailbox.
</p><p>
This option is ignored for maildir-style mailboxes when <a class="link" href="#maildir-trash" title="3.170. maildir_trash">$maildir_trash</a>
is set.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="delete-untag"></a>3.77. delete_untag</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will untag messages when marking them
for deletion.  This applies when you either explicitly delete a message,
or when you save it to another folder.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="digest-collapse"></a>3.78. digest_collapse</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt's received-attachments menu will not show the subparts of
individual messages in a multipart/digest.  To see these subparts, press <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">v</span>”</span> on that menu.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="display-filter"></a>3.79. display_filter</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
When set, specifies a command used to filter messages.  When a message
is viewed it is passed as standard input to <a class="link" href="#display-filter" title="3.79. display_filter">$display_filter</a>, and the
filtered message is read from the standard output.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="dotlock-program"></a>3.80. dotlock_program</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">/usr/local/bin/mutt_dotlock</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Contains the path of the <code class="literal">mutt_dotlock(1)</code> binary to be used by
mutt.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="dsn-notify"></a>3.81. dsn_notify</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable sets the request for when notification is returned.  The
string consists of a comma separated list (no spaces!) of one or more
of the following: <span class="emphasis"><em>never</em></span>, to never request notification,
<span class="emphasis"><em>failure</em></span>, to request notification on transmission failure,
<span class="emphasis"><em>delay</em></span>, to be notified of message delays, <span class="emphasis"><em>success</em></span>, to be
notified of successful transmission.
</p><p>
Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set dsn_notify="failure,delay"
</pre><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> when using <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a> for delivery, you should not enable
this unless you are either using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater or a MTA
providing a <code class="literal">sendmail(1)</code>-compatible interface supporting the <code class="literal">-N</code> option
for DSN. For SMTP delivery, DSN support is auto-detected so that it
depends on the server whether DSN will be used or not.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="dsn-return"></a>3.82. dsn_return</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable controls how much of your message is returned in DSN
messages.  It may be set to either <span class="emphasis"><em>hdrs</em></span> to return just the
message header, or <span class="emphasis"><em>full</em></span> to return the full message.
</p><p>
Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set dsn_return=hdrs
</pre><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> when using <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a> for delivery, you should not enable
this unless you are either using Sendmail 8.8.x or greater or a MTA
providing a <code class="literal">sendmail(1)</code>-compatible interface supporting the <code class="literal">-R</code> option
for DSN. For SMTP delivery, DSN support is auto-detected so that it
depends on the server whether DSN will be used or not.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="duplicate-threads"></a>3.83. duplicate_threads</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable controls whether mutt, when <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">$sort</a> is set to <span class="emphasis"><em>threads</em></span>, threads
messages with the same Message-Id together.  If it is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, it will indicate
that it thinks they are duplicates of each other with an equals sign
in the thread tree.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="edit-headers"></a>3.84. edit_headers</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This option allows you to edit the header of your outgoing messages
along with the body of your message.
</p><p>
Although the compose menu may have localized header labels, the
labels passed to your editor will be standard RFC 2822 headers,
(e.g. To:, Cc:, Subject:).  Headers added in your editor must
also be RFC 2822 headers, or one of the pseudo headers listed in
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#edit-header" title="6.2. Editing the Message Header">edit-header</a></span>”</span>.  Mutt will not understand localized header
labels, just as it would not when parsing an actual email.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note</strong></span> that changes made to the References: and Date: headers are
ignored for interoperability reasons.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="editor"></a>3.85. editor</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable specifies which editor is used by mutt.
It defaults to the value of the <code class="literal">$VISUAL</code>, or <code class="literal">$EDITOR</code>, environment
variable, or to the string <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">vi</span>”</span> if neither of those are set.
</p><p>
The <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a></code> string may contain a <span class="emphasis"><em>%s</em></span> escape, which will be replaced by the name
of the file to be edited.  If the <span class="emphasis"><em>%s</em></span> escape does not appear in <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a></code>, a
space and the name to be edited are appended.
</p><p>
The resulting string is then executed by running

</p><pre class="screen">
sh -c 'string'
</pre><p>
where <span class="emphasis"><em>string</em></span> is the expansion of <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#editor" title="3.85. editor">$editor</a></code> described above.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="encode-from"></a>3.86. encode_from</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will quoted-printable encode messages when
they contain the string <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From </span>”</span> (note the trailing space) in the beginning of a line.
This is useful to avoid the tampering certain mail delivery and transport
agents tend to do with messages (in order to prevent tools from
misinterpreting the line as a mbox message separator).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="entropy-file"></a>3.87. entropy_file</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The file which includes random data that is used to initialize SSL
library functions. (OpenSSL only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="envelope-from-address"></a>3.88. envelope_from_address</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: e-mail address<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Manually sets the <span class="emphasis"><em>envelope</em></span> sender for outgoing messages.
This value is ignored if <a class="link" href="#use-envelope-from" title="3.406. use_envelope_from">$use_envelope_from</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="error-history"></a>3.89. error_history</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 30</p></div><p>
This variable controls the size (in number of strings remembered)
of the error messages displayed by mutt.  These can be shown with
the <code class="literal">&lt;error-history&gt;</code> function.  The history is cleared each
time this variable is set.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="escape"></a>3.90. escape</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Escape character to use for functions in the built-in editor.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="fast-reply"></a>3.91. fast_reply</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the initial prompt for recipients and subject are skipped
when replying to messages, and the initial prompt for subject is
skipped when forwarding messages.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> this variable has no effect when the <a class="link" href="#autoedit" title="3.28. autoedit">$autoedit</a>
variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="fcc-attach"></a>3.92. fcc_attach</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable controls whether or not attachments on outgoing messages
are saved along with the main body of your message.
</p><p>
Note: <a class="link" href="#fcc-before-send" title="3.93. fcc_before_send">$fcc_before_send</a> forces the default (set) behavior of this option.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="fcc-before-send"></a>3.93. fcc_before_send</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, FCCs will occur before sending
the message.  Before sending, the message cannot be manipulated,
so it will be stored the exact same as sent:
<a class="link" href="#fcc-attach" title="3.92. fcc_attach">$fcc_attach</a> and <a class="link" href="#fcc-clear" title="3.94. fcc_clear">$fcc_clear</a> will be ignored (using their default
values).
</p><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, the default, FCCs will occur after sending.
Variables <a class="link" href="#fcc-attach" title="3.92. fcc_attach">$fcc_attach</a> and <a class="link" href="#fcc-clear" title="3.94. fcc_clear">$fcc_clear</a> will be respected, allowing
it to be stored without attachments or encryption/signing if
desired.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="fcc-clear"></a>3.94. fcc_clear</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, FCCs will be stored unencrypted and
unsigned, even when the actual message is encrypted and/or
signed.
</p><p>
Note: <a class="link" href="#fcc-before-send" title="3.93. fcc_before_send">$fcc_before_send</a> forces the default (unset) behavior of this option.
(PGP only)
</p><p>
See also <a class="link" href="#pgp-self-encrypt" title="3.233. pgp_self_encrypt">$pgp_self_encrypt</a>, <a class="link" href="#smime-self-encrypt" title="3.345. smime_self_encrypt">$smime_self_encrypt</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="fcc-delimiter"></a>3.95. fcc_delimiter</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
When specified, this allows the ability to Fcc to more than one
mailbox.  The fcc value will be split by this delimiter and Mutt
will evaluate each part as a mailbox separately.
</p><p>
See <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a></span>”</span>, and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#fcc-save-hook" title="20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once">fcc-save-hook</a></span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="flag-safe"></a>3.96. flag_safe</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If set, flagged messages cannot be deleted.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="folder"></a>3.97. folder</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/Mail</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Specifies the default location of your mailboxes.  A <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=</span>”</span> at the
beginning of a pathname will be expanded to the value of this
variable.  Note that if you change this variable (from the default)
value you need to make sure that the assignment occurs <span class="emphasis"><em>before</em></span>
you use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=</span>”</span> for any other variables since expansion takes place
when handling the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail">mailboxes</a></span>”</span> command.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="folder-format"></a>3.98. folder_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%2C %t %N %F %2l %-8.8u %-8.8g %8s %d %f</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable allows you to customize the file browser display to your
personal taste.  This string is similar to <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>, but has
its own set of <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%C  </td><td>current file number
</td></tr><tr><td>%d  </td><td>date/time folder was last modified
</td></tr><tr><td>%D  </td><td>date/time folder was last modified using <a class="link" href="#date-format" title="3.74. date_format">$date_format</a>.
</td></tr><tr><td>%f  </td><td>filename (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">/</span>”</span> is appended to directory names,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">@</span>”</span> to symbolic links and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> to executable
files)
</td></tr><tr><td>%F  </td><td>file permissions
</td></tr><tr><td>%g  </td><td>group name (or numeric gid, if missing)
</td></tr><tr><td>%l  </td><td>number of hard links
</td></tr><tr><td>%m  </td><td>number of messages in the mailbox *
</td></tr><tr><td>%n  </td><td>number of unread messages in the mailbox *
</td></tr><tr><td>%N  </td><td>N if mailbox has new mail, blank otherwise
</td></tr><tr><td>%s  </td><td>size in bytes (see <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>)
</td></tr><tr><td>%t  </td><td><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> if the file is tagged, blank otherwise
</td></tr><tr><td>%u  </td><td>owner name (or numeric uid, if missing)
</td></tr><tr><td>%&gt;X </td><td>right justify the rest of the string and pad with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%|X </td><td>pad to the end of the line with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%*X </td><td>soft-fill with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span> as pad
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
For an explanation of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">soft-fill</span>”</span>, see the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> documentation.
</p><p>
* = can be optionally printed if nonzero
</p><p>
%m, %n, and %N only work for monitored mailboxes.
%m requires <a class="link" href="#mail-check-stats" title="3.165. mail_check_stats">$mail_check_stats</a> to be set.
%n requires <a class="link" href="#mail-check-stats" title="3.165. mail_check_stats">$mail_check_stats</a> to be set (except for IMAP mailboxes).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="followup-to"></a>3.99. followup_to</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Mail-Followup-To:</span>”</span> header field is
generated when sending mail.  When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will generate this
field when you are replying to a known mailing list, specified with
the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#subscribe">subscribe</a></span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists">lists</a></span>”</span> commands.
</p><p>
This field has two purposes.  First, preventing you from
receiving duplicate copies of replies to messages which you send
to mailing lists, and second, ensuring that you do get a reply
separately for any messages sent to known lists to which you are
not subscribed.
</p><p>
The header will contain only the list's address
for subscribed lists, and both the list address and your own
email address for unsubscribed lists.  Without this header, a
group reply to your message sent to a subscribed list will be
sent to both the list and your address, resulting in two copies
of the same email for you.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="force-name"></a>3.100. force_name</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This variable is similar to <a class="link" href="#save-name" title="3.294. save_name">$save_name</a>, except that Mutt will
store a copy of your outgoing message by the username of the address
you are sending to even if that mailbox does not exist.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="forward-attachments"></a>3.101. forward_attachments</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
When forwarding inline (i.e. <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> or
answered with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no</span>”</span> and <a class="link" href="#forward-decode" title="3.104. forward_decode">$forward_decode</a> <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>), attachments
which cannot be decoded in a reasonable manner will be attached
to the newly composed message if this quadoption is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> or
answered with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">yes</span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="forward-attribution-intro"></a>3.102. forward_attribution_intro</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string (localized)<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">----- Forwarded message from %f -----</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This is the string that will precede a message which has been forwarded
in the main body of a message (when <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is unset).
For a full listing of defined <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences see
the section on <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>.  See also <a class="link" href="#attribution-locale" title="3.21. attribution_locale">$attribution_locale</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="forward-attribution-trailer"></a>3.103. forward_attribution_trailer</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string (localized)<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">----- End forwarded message -----</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This is the string that will follow a message which has been forwarded
in the main body of a message (when <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is unset).
For a full listing of defined <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences see
the section on <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>.  See also <a class="link" href="#attribution-locale" title="3.21. attribution_locale">$attribution_locale</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="forward-decode"></a>3.104. forward_decode</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into <code class="literal">text/plain</code> when
forwarding a message.  The message header is also RFC2047 decoded.
This variable is only used, if <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>,
otherwise <a class="link" href="#mime-forward-decode" title="3.192. mime_forward_decode">$mime_forward_decode</a> is used instead.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="forward-decrypt"></a>3.105. forward_decrypt</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This quadoption controls the handling of encrypted messages when
forwarding or attaching a message.  When set to or answered
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">yes</span>”</span>, the outer layer of encryption is stripped off.
</p><p>
This variable is used if <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> and
<a class="link" href="#mime-forward-decode" title="3.192. mime_forward_decode">$mime_forward_decode</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>.  It is also used when
attaching a message via <code class="literal">&lt;attach-message&gt;</code> in the compose
menu.  (PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="forward-edit"></a>3.106. forward_edit</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This quadoption controls whether or not the user is automatically
placed in the editor when forwarding messages.  For those who always want
to forward with no modification, use a setting of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">no</span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="forward-format"></a>3.107. forward_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">[%a: %s]</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable controls the default subject when forwarding a message.
It uses the same format sequences as the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="forward-quote"></a>3.108. forward_quote</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, forwarded messages included in the main body of the
message (when <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>) will be quoted using
<a class="link" href="#indent-string" title="3.158. indent_string">$indent_string</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="from"></a>3.109. from</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: e-mail address<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, this variable contains a default from address.  It
can be overridden using <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a></span>”</span> (including from a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#send-hook" title="21. Change Settings Based Upon Message Recipients">send-hook</a></span>”</span>) and
<a class="link" href="#reverse-name" title="3.288. reverse_name">$reverse_name</a>.  This variable is ignored if <a class="link" href="#use-from" title="3.407. use_from">$use_from</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>.
</p><p>
This setting defaults to the contents of the environment variable <code class="literal">$EMAIL</code>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="gecos-mask"></a>3.110. gecos_mask</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: regular expression<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">^[^,]*</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
A regular expression used by mutt to parse the GECOS field of a password
entry when expanding the alias.  The default value
will return the string up to the first <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">,</span>”</span> encountered.
If the GECOS field contains a string like <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">lastname, firstname</span>”</span> then you
should set it to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">.*</code></span>”</span>.
</p><p>
This can be useful if you see the following behavior: you address an e-mail
to user ID <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">stevef</span>”</span> whose full name is <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Steve Franklin</span>”</span>.  If mutt expands
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">stevef</span>”</span> to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">"Franklin" stevef@foo.bar</span>”</span> then you should set the <a class="link" href="#gecos-mask" title="3.110. gecos_mask">$gecos_mask</a> to
a regular expression that will match the whole name so mutt will expand
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Franklin</span>”</span> to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Franklin, Steve</span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hdrs"></a>3.111. hdrs</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, the header fields normally added by the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a></span>”</span>
command are not created.  This variable <span class="emphasis"><em>must</em></span> be unset before
composing a new message or replying in order to take effect.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>,
the user defined header fields are added to every new message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="header"></a>3.112. header</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, this variable causes Mutt to include the header
of the message you are replying to into the edit buffer.
The <a class="link" href="#weed" title="3.412. weed">$weed</a> setting applies.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="header-cache"></a>3.113. header_cache</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable points to the header cache database.
If pointing to a directory Mutt will contain a header cache
database file per folder, if pointing to a file that file will
be a single global header cache. By default it is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> so no header
caching will be used.  If pointing to a directory, it must be
created in advance.
</p><p>
Header caching can greatly improve speed when opening POP, IMAP
MH or Maildir folders, see <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#caching" title="8. Local Caching">caching</a></span>”</span> for details.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="header-cache-compress"></a>3.114. header_cache_compress</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When mutt is compiled with qdbm, tokyocabinet, or kyotocabinet as header
cache backend, this option determines whether the database will be compressed.
Compression results in database files roughly being one fifth
of the usual diskspace, but the decompression can result in a
slower opening of cached folder(s) which in general is still
much faster than opening non header cached folders.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="header-cache-pagesize"></a>3.115. header_cache_pagesize</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number (long)<br />
Default: 16384</p></div><p>
When mutt is compiled with either gdbm or bdb4 as the header cache backend,
this option changes the database page size.  Too large or too small
values can waste space, memory, or CPU time. The default should be more
or less optimal for most use cases.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="header-color-partial"></a>3.116. header_color_partial</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, color header regexps behave like color body regexps:
color is applied to the exact text matched by the regexp.  When
<span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, color is applied to the entire header.
</p><p>
One use of this option might be to apply color to just the header labels.
</p><p>
See <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#color" title="11. Using Color and Mono Video Attributes">color</a></span>”</span> for more details.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="help"></a>3.117. help</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, help lines describing the bindings for the major functions
provided by each menu are displayed on the first line of the screen.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> The binding will not be displayed correctly if the
function is bound to a sequence rather than a single keystroke.  Also,
the help line may not be updated if a binding is changed while Mutt is
running.  Since this variable is primarily aimed at new users, neither
of these should present a major problem.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hidden-host"></a>3.118. hidden_host</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will skip the host name part of <a class="link" href="#hostname" title="3.129. hostname">$hostname</a> variable
when adding the domain part to addresses.  This variable does not
affect the generation of Message-IDs, and it will not lead to the
cut-off of first-level domains.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hide-limited"></a>3.119. hide_limited</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will not show the presence of messages that are hidden
by limiting, in the thread tree.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hide-missing"></a>3.120. hide_missing</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will not show the presence of missing messages in the
thread tree.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hide-thread-subject"></a>3.121. hide_thread_subject</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will not show the subject of messages in the thread
tree that have the same subject as their parent or closest previously
displayed sibling.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hide-top-limited"></a>3.122. hide_top_limited</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will not show the presence of messages that are hidden
by limiting, at the top of threads in the thread tree.  Note that when
<a class="link" href="#hide-limited" title="3.119. hide_limited">$hide_limited</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, this option will have no effect.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hide-top-missing"></a>3.123. hide_top_missing</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will not show the presence of missing messages at the
top of threads in the thread tree.  Note that when <a class="link" href="#hide-missing" title="3.120. hide_missing">$hide_missing</a> is
<span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, this option will have no effect.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="history"></a>3.124. history</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 10</p></div><p>
This variable controls the size (in number of strings remembered) of
the string history buffer per category. The buffer is cleared each time the
variable is set.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="history-file"></a>3.125. history_file</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/.mutthistory</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
The file in which Mutt will save its history.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#save-history" title="3.293. save_history">$save_history</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="history-remove-dups"></a>3.126. history_remove_dups</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, all of the string history will be scanned for duplicates
when a new entry is added.  Duplicate entries in the <a class="link" href="#history-file" title="3.125. history_file">$history_file</a> will
also be removed when it is periodically compacted.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="honor-disposition"></a>3.127. honor_disposition</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will not display attachments with a
disposition of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">attachment</span>”</span> inline even if it could
render the part to plain text. These MIME parts can only
be viewed from the attachment menu.
</p><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will render all MIME parts it can
properly transform to plain text.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="honor-followup-to"></a>3.128. honor_followup_to</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable controls whether or not a Mail-Followup-To header is
honored when group-replying to a message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="hostname"></a>3.129. hostname</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Specifies the fully-qualified hostname of the system mutt is running on
containing the host's name and the DNS domain it belongs to. It is used
as the domain part (after <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">@</span>”</span>) for local email addresses as well as
Message-Id headers.
</p><p>
Its value is determined at startup as follows: the node's
hostname is first determined by the <code class="literal">uname(3)</code> function.  The
domain is then looked up using the <code class="literal">gethostname(2)</code> and
<code class="literal">getaddrinfo(3)</code> functions.  If those calls are unable to
determine the domain, the full value returned by uname is used.
Optionally, Mutt can be compiled with a fixed domain name in
which case a detected one is not used.
</p><p>
Starting in Mutt 2.0, the operations described in the previous
paragraph are performed after the muttrc is processed, instead of
beforehand.  This way, if the DNS operations are creating delays
at startup, you can avoid those by manually setting the value in
your muttrc.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#use-domain" title="3.405. use_domain">$use_domain</a> and <a class="link" href="#hidden-host" title="3.118. hidden_host">$hidden_host</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="idn-decode"></a>3.130. idn_decode</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will show you international domain names decoded.
Note: You can use IDNs for addresses even if this is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>.
This variable only affects decoding. (IDN only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="idn-encode"></a>3.131. idn_encode</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will encode international domain names using
IDN.  Unset this if your SMTP server can handle newer (RFC 6531)
UTF-8 encoded domains. (IDN only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ignore-linear-white-space"></a>3.132. ignore_linear_white_space</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This option replaces linear-white-space between encoded-word
and text to a single space to prevent the display of MIME-encoded
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Subject:</span>”</span> field from being divided into multiple lines.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ignore-list-reply-to"></a>3.133. ignore_list_reply_to</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Affects the behavior of the <code class="literal">&lt;reply&gt;</code> function when replying to
messages from mailing lists (as defined by the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#subscribe">subscribe</a></span>”</span> or
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#lists" title="14. Mailing Lists">lists</a></span>”</span> commands).  When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, if the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Reply-To:</span>”</span> field is
set to the same value as the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To:</span>”</span> field, Mutt assumes that the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Reply-To:</span>”</span> field was set by the mailing list to automate responses
to the list, and will ignore this field.  To direct a response to the
mailing list when this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, use the <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#list-reply">&lt;list-reply&gt;</a></code>
function; <code class="literal">&lt;group-reply&gt;</code> will reply to both the sender and the
list.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-authenticators"></a>3.134. imap_authenticators</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt may
attempt to use to log in to an IMAP server, in the order mutt should
try them.  Authentication methods are either <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">login</span>”</span> or the right
side of an IMAP <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">AUTH=xxx</span>”</span> capability string, e.g. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">digest-md5</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">gssapi</span>”</span>
or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">cram-md5</span>”</span>. This option is case-insensitive. If it's
<span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> (the default) mutt will try all available methods,
in order from most-secure to least-secure.
</p><p>
Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set imap_authenticators="gssapi:cram-md5:login"
</pre><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> Mutt will only fall back to other authentication methods if
the previous methods are unavailable. If a method is available but
authentication fails, mutt will not connect to the IMAP server.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-check-subscribed"></a>3.135. imap_check_subscribed</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will fetch the set of subscribed folders from
your server on connection, and add them to the set of mailboxes
it polls for new mail just as if you had issued individual <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#mailboxes" title="16. Monitoring Incoming Mail">mailboxes</a></span>”</span>
commands.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-condstore"></a>3.136. imap_condstore</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will use the CONDSTORE extension (RFC 7162)
if advertised by the server.  Mutt's current implementation is basic,
used only for initial message fetching and flag updates.
</p><p>
For some IMAP servers, enabling this will slightly speed up
downloading initial messages.  Unfortunately, Gmail is not one
those, and displays worse performance when enabled.  Your
mileage may vary.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-deflate"></a>3.137. imap_deflate</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will use the COMPRESS=DEFLATE extension (RFC
4978) if advertised by the server.
</p><p>
In general a good compression efficiency can be achieved, which
speeds up reading large mailboxes also on fairly good connections.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-delim-chars"></a>3.138. imap_delim_chars</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">/.</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This contains the list of characters which you would like to treat
as folder separators for displaying IMAP paths. In particular it
helps in using the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">=</span>”</span> shortcut for your <span class="emphasis"><em>folder</em></span> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-fetch-chunk-size"></a>3.139. imap_fetch_chunk_size</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number (long)<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
When set to a value greater than 0, new headers will be
downloaded in groups of this many headers per request.  If you
have a very large mailbox, this might prevent a timeout and
disconnect when opening the mailbox, by sending a FETCH per set
of this many headers, instead of a single FETCH for all new
headers.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-headers"></a>3.140. imap_headers</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Mutt requests these header fields in addition to the default headers
(<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Date:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Sender:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Subject:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Message-Id:</span>”</span>,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">References:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Content-Type:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Content-Description:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">In-Reply-To:</span>”</span>,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Reply-To:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Lines:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">List-Post:</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span>) from IMAP
servers before displaying the index menu. You may want to add more
headers for spam detection.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> This is a space separated list, items should be uppercase
and not contain the colon, e.g. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-BOGOSITY X-SPAM-STATUS</span>”</span> for the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Bogosity:</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Spam-Status:</span>”</span> header fields.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-idle"></a>3.141. imap_idle</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will attempt to use the IMAP IDLE extension
to check for new mail in the current mailbox. Some servers
(dovecot was the inspiration for this option) react badly
to mutt's implementation. If your connection seems to freeze
up periodically, try unsetting this.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-keepalive"></a>3.142. imap_keepalive</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 300</p></div><p>
This variable specifies the maximum amount of time in seconds that mutt
will wait before polling open IMAP connections, to prevent the server
from closing them before mutt has finished with them. The default is
well within the RFC-specified minimum amount of time (30 minutes) before
a server is allowed to do this, but in practice the RFC does get
violated every now and then. Reduce this number if you find yourself
getting disconnected from your IMAP server due to inactivity.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-list-subscribed"></a>3.143. imap_list_subscribed</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This variable configures whether IMAP folder browsing will look for
only subscribed folders or all folders.  This can be toggled in the
IMAP browser with the <code class="literal">&lt;toggle-subscribed&gt;</code> function.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-login"></a>3.144. imap_login</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Your login name on the IMAP server.
</p><p>
This variable defaults to the value of <a class="link" href="#imap-user" title="3.153. imap_user">$imap_user</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-oauth-refresh-command"></a>3.145. imap_oauth_refresh_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The command to run to generate an OAUTH refresh token for
authorizing your connection to your IMAP server.  This command will be
run on every connection attempt that uses the OAUTHBEARER authentication
mechanism.  See <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#oauth" title="6. OAUTHBEARER Support">oauth</a></span>”</span> for details.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-pass"></a>3.146. imap_pass</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Specifies the password for your IMAP account.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will
prompt you for your password when you invoke the <code class="literal">&lt;imap-fetch-mail&gt;</code> function
or try to open an IMAP folder.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Warning</strong></span>: you should only use this option when you are on a
fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your muttrc even
if you are the only one who can read the file.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-passive"></a>3.147. imap_passive</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will not open new IMAP connections to check for new
mail.  Mutt will only check for new mail over existing IMAP
connections.  This is useful if you don't want to be prompted for
user/password pairs on mutt invocation, or if opening the connection
is slow.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-peek"></a>3.148. imap_peek</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will avoid implicitly marking your mail as read whenever
you fetch a message from the server. This is generally a good thing,
but can make closing an IMAP folder somewhat slower. This option
exists to appease speed freaks.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-pipeline-depth"></a>3.149. imap_pipeline_depth</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 15</p></div><p>
Controls the number of IMAP commands that may be queued up before they
are sent to the server. A deeper pipeline reduces the amount of time
mutt must wait for the server, and can make IMAP servers feel much
more responsive. But not all servers correctly handle pipelined commands,
so if you have problems you might want to try setting this variable to 0.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> Changes to this variable have no effect on open connections.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-poll-timeout"></a>3.150. imap_poll_timeout</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 15</p></div><p>
This variable specifies the maximum amount of time in seconds
that mutt will wait for a response when polling IMAP connections
for new mail, before timing out and closing the connection.  Set
to 0 to disable timing out.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-qresync"></a>3.151. imap_qresync</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will use the QRESYNC extension (RFC 7162)
if advertised by the server.  Mutt's current implementation is basic,
used only for initial message fetching and flag updates.
</p><p>
Note: this feature is currently experimental.  If you experience
strange behavior, such as duplicate or missing messages please
file a bug report to let us know.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-servernoise"></a>3.152. imap_servernoise</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will display warning messages from the IMAP
server as error messages. Since these messages are often
harmless, or generated due to configuration problems on the
server which are out of the users' hands, you may wish to suppress
them at some point.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="imap-user"></a>3.153. imap_user</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The name of the user whose mail you intend to access on the IMAP
server.
</p><p>
This variable defaults to your user name on the local machine.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="implicit-autoview"></a>3.154. implicit_autoview</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If set to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">yes</span>”</span>, mutt will look for a mailcap entry with the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">copiousoutput</code></span>”</span> flag set for <span class="emphasis"><em>every</em></span> MIME attachment it doesn't have
an internal viewer defined for.  If such an entry is found, mutt will
use the viewer defined in that entry to convert the body part to text
form.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="include"></a>3.155. include</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not a copy of the message(s) you are replying to
is included in your reply.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="include-encrypted"></a>3.156. include_encrypted</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not Mutt includes separately encrypted attachment
contents when replying.
</p><p>
This variable was added to prevent accidental exposure of encrypted
contents when replying to an attacker.  If a previously encrypted message
were attached by the attacker, they could trick an unwary recipient into
decrypting and including the message in their reply.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="include-onlyfirst"></a>3.157. include_onlyfirst</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not Mutt includes only the first attachment
of the message you are replying.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="indent-string"></a>3.158. indent_string</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">&gt; </code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Specifies the string to prepend to each line of text quoted in a
message to which you are replying.  You are strongly encouraged not to
change this value, as it tends to agitate the more fanatical netizens.
</p><p>
The value of this option is ignored if <a class="link" href="#text-flowed" title="3.388. text_flowed">$text_flowed</a> is set, because
the quoting mechanism is strictly defined for format=flowed.
</p><p>
This option is a format string, please see the description of
<a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> for supported <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-style sequences.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="index-format"></a>3.159. index_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%4C %Z %{%b %d} %-15.15L (%?l?%4l&amp;%4c?) %s</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable allows you to customize the message index display to
your personal taste.
</p><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Format strings</span>”</span> are similar to the strings used in the C
function <code class="literal">printf(3)</code> to format output (see the man page for more details).
For an explanation of the %? construct, see the <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a> description.
The following sequences are defined in Mutt:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%a </td><td>address of the author
</td></tr><tr><td>%A </td><td>reply-to address (if present; otherwise: address of author)
</td></tr><tr><td>%b </td><td>filename of the original message folder (think mailbox)
</td></tr><tr><td>%B </td><td>the list to which the letter was sent, or else the folder name (%b).
</td></tr><tr><td>%c </td><td>number of characters (bytes) in the message (see <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>)
</td></tr><tr><td>%C </td><td>current message number
</td></tr><tr><td>%d </td><td>date and time of the message in the format specified by
<a class="link" href="#date-format" title="3.74. date_format">$date_format</a> converted to sender's time zone
</td></tr><tr><td>%D </td><td>date and time of the message in the format specified by
<a class="link" href="#date-format" title="3.74. date_format">$date_format</a> converted to the local time zone
</td></tr><tr><td>%e </td><td>current message number in thread
</td></tr><tr><td>%E </td><td>number of messages in current thread
</td></tr><tr><td>%f </td><td>sender (address + real name), either From: or Return-Path:
</td></tr><tr><td>%F </td><td>author name, or recipient name if the message is from you
</td></tr><tr><td>%H </td><td>spam attribute(s) of this message
</td></tr><tr><td>%i </td><td>message-id of the current message
</td></tr><tr><td>%l </td><td>number of lines in the unprocessed message (may not work with
maildir, mh, and IMAP folders)
</td></tr><tr><td>%L </td><td>If an address in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To:</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc:</span>”</span> header field matches an address
defined by the users <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#subscribe">subscribe</a></span>”</span> command, this displays
"To &lt;list-name&gt;", otherwise the same as %F.
</td></tr><tr><td>%m </td><td>total number of message in the mailbox
</td></tr><tr><td>%M </td><td>number of hidden messages if the thread is collapsed.
</td></tr><tr><td>%N </td><td>message score
</td></tr><tr><td>%n </td><td>author's real name (or address if missing)
</td></tr><tr><td>%O </td><td>original save folder where mutt would formerly have
stashed the message: list name or recipient name
if not sent to a list
</td></tr><tr><td>%P </td><td>progress indicator for the built-in pager (how much of the file has been displayed)
</td></tr><tr><td>%r </td><td>comma separated list of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To:</span>”</span> recipients
</td></tr><tr><td>%R </td><td>comma separated list of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc:</span>”</span> recipients
</td></tr><tr><td>%s </td><td>subject of the message
</td></tr><tr><td>%S </td><td>single character status of the message (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">N</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">O</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">D</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">d</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">!</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">r</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span>)
</td></tr><tr><td>%t </td><td><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To:</span>”</span> field (recipients)
</td></tr><tr><td>%T </td><td>the appropriate character from the <a class="link" href="#to-chars" title="3.395. to_chars">$to_chars</a> string
</td></tr><tr><td>%u </td><td>user (login) name of the author
</td></tr><tr><td>%v </td><td>first name of the author, or the recipient if the message is from you
</td></tr><tr><td>%X </td><td>number of attachments
(please see the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#attachments" title="6. Attachment Searching and Counting">attachments</a></span>”</span> section for possible speed effects)
</td></tr><tr><td>%y </td><td><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span> field, if present
</td></tr><tr><td>%Y </td><td><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span> field, if present, and <span class="emphasis"><em>(1)</em></span> not at part of a thread tree,
<span class="emphasis"><em>(2)</em></span> at the top of a thread, or <span class="emphasis"><em>(3)</em></span> <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span> is different from
preceding message's <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X-Label:</span>”</span>.
</td></tr><tr><td>%Z </td><td>a three character set of message status flags.
the first character is new/read/replied flags (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">n</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">o</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">r</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">O</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">N</span>”</span>).
the second is deleted or encryption flags (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">D</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">d</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">S</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">P</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">s</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">K</span>”</span>).
the third is either tagged/flagged (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span>/<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">!</span>”</span>), or one of the characters
listed in <a class="link" href="#to-chars" title="3.395. to_chars">$to_chars</a>.
</td></tr><tr><td>%@name@ </td><td>insert and evaluate format-string from the matching
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#index-format-hook" title="24. Dynamically Changing $index_format using Patterns">index-format-hook</a></span>”</span> command
</td></tr><tr><td>%{fmt} </td><td>the date and time of the message is converted to sender's
time zone, and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">fmt</span>”</span> is expanded by the library function
<code class="literal">strftime(3)</code>; a leading bang disables locales
</td></tr><tr><td>%[fmt] </td><td>the date and time of the message is converted to the local
time zone, and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">fmt</span>”</span> is expanded by the library function
<code class="literal">strftime(3)</code>; a leading bang disables locales
</td></tr><tr><td>%(fmt) </td><td>the local date and time when the message was received.
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">fmt</span>”</span> is expanded by the library function <code class="literal">strftime(3)</code>;
a leading bang disables locales
</td></tr><tr><td>%&lt;fmt&gt; </td><td>the current local time. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">fmt</span>”</span> is expanded by the library
function <code class="literal">strftime(3)</code>; a leading bang disables locales.
</td></tr><tr><td>%&gt;X    </td><td>right justify the rest of the string and pad with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%|X    </td><td>pad to the end of the line with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%*X    </td><td>soft-fill with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span> as pad
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
Note that for mbox/mmdf, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%l</span>”</span> applies to the unprocessed message, and
for maildir/mh, the value comes from the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Lines:</span>”</span> header field when
present (the meaning is normally the same). Thus the value depends on
the encodings used in the different parts of the message and has little
meaning in practice.
</p><p>
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Soft-fill</span>”</span> deserves some explanation: Normal right-justification
will print everything to the left of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%&gt;</span>”</span>, displaying padding and
whatever lies to the right only if there's room. By contrast,
soft-fill gives priority to the right-hand side, guaranteeing space
to display it and showing padding only if there's still room. If
necessary, soft-fill will eat text leftwards to make room for
rightward text.
</p><p>
Note that these expandos are supported in
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#save-hook" title="18. Specify Default Save Mailbox">save-hook</a></span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a></span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#fcc-save-hook" title="20. Specify Default Save Filename and Default Fcc: Mailbox at Once">fcc-save-hook</a></span>”</span>, and
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#index-format-hook" title="24. Dynamically Changing $index_format using Patterns">index-format-hook</a></span>”</span>.
</p><p>
They are also supported in the configuration variables <a class="link" href="#attribution" title="3.20. attribution">$attribution</a>,
<a class="link" href="#forward-attribution-intro" title="3.102. forward_attribution_intro">$forward_attribution_intro</a>, <a class="link" href="#forward-attribution-trailer" title="3.103. forward_attribution_trailer">$forward_attribution_trailer</a>,
<a class="link" href="#forward-format" title="3.107. forward_format">$forward_format</a>, <a class="link" href="#indent-string" title="3.158. indent_string">$indent_string</a>, <a class="link" href="#message-format" title="3.183. message_format">$message_format</a>, <a class="link" href="#pager-format" title="3.205. pager_format">$pager_format</a>,
and <a class="link" href="#post-indent-string" title="3.257. post_indent_string">$post_indent_string</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ispell"></a>3.160. ispell</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">/usr/bin/ispell</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
How to invoke ispell (GNU's spell-checking software).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="keep-flagged"></a>3.161. keep_flagged</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, read messages marked as flagged will not be moved
from your spool mailbox to your <a class="link" href="#mbox" title="3.176. mbox">$mbox</a> mailbox, or as a result of
a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#mbox-hook" title="15. Using Multiple Spool Mailboxes">mbox-hook</a></span>”</span> command.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="local-date-header"></a>3.162. local_date_header</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the date in the Date header of emails that you send will be in
your local timezone. If unset a UTC date will be used instead to avoid
leaking information about your current location.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mail-check"></a>3.163. mail_check</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 5</p></div><p>
This variable configures how often (in seconds) mutt should look for
new mail. Also see the <a class="link" href="#timeout" title="3.393. timeout">$timeout</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mail-check-recent"></a>3.164. mail_check_recent</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will only notify you about new mail that has been received
since the last time you opened the mailbox.  When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will notify you
if any new mail exists in the mailbox, regardless of whether you have visited it
recently.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mail-check-stats"></a>3.165. mail_check_stats</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will periodically calculate message
statistics of a mailbox while polling for new mail.  It will
check for unread, flagged, and total message counts.
(Note: IMAP mailboxes only support unread and total counts).
</p><p>
Because this operation is more performance intensive, it defaults
to <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, and has a separate option,
<a class="link" href="#mail-check-stats-interval" title="3.166. mail_check_stats_interval">$mail_check_stats_interval</a>, to control how often to update these
counts.
</p><p>
Message statistics can also be explicitly calculated by invoking the
<code class="literal">&lt;check-stats&gt;</code>
function.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mail-check-stats-interval"></a>3.166. mail_check_stats_interval</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 60</p></div><p>
When <a class="link" href="#mail-check-stats" title="3.165. mail_check_stats">$mail_check_stats</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, this variable configures
how often (in seconds) mutt will update message counts.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mailcap-path"></a>3.167. mailcap_path</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable specifies which files to consult when attempting to
display MIME bodies not directly supported by Mutt.  The default value
is generated during startup: see the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#mailcap" title="3. MIME Viewer Configuration with Mailcap">mailcap</a></span>”</span> section of the manual.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mailcap-sanitize"></a>3.168. mailcap_sanitize</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will restrict possible characters in mailcap % expandos
to a well-defined set of safe characters.  This is the safe setting,
but we are not sure it doesn't break some more advanced MIME stuff.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>DON'T CHANGE THIS SETTING UNLESS YOU ARE REALLY SURE WHAT YOU ARE
DOING!</strong></span>
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="maildir-header-cache-verify"></a>3.169. maildir_header_cache_verify</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Check for Maildir unaware programs other than mutt having modified maildir
files when the header cache is in use.  This incurs one <code class="literal">stat(2)</code> per
message every time the folder is opened (which can be very slow for NFS
folders).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="maildir-trash"></a>3.170. maildir_trash</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, messages marked as deleted will be saved with the maildir
trashed flag instead of unlinked.  <span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> this only applies
to maildir-style mailboxes.  Setting it will have no effect on other
mailbox types.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="maildir-check-cur"></a>3.171. maildir_check_cur</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will poll both the new and cur directories of
a maildir folder for new messages.  This might be useful if other
programs interacting with the folder (e.g. dovecot) are moving new
messages to the cur directory.  Note that setting this option may
slow down polling for new messages in large folders, since mutt has
to scan all cur messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mark-macro-prefix"></a>3.172. mark_macro_prefix</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">'</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Prefix for macros created using mark-message.  A new macro
automatically generated with <span class="emphasis"><em>&lt;mark-message&gt;a</em></span> will be composed
from this prefix and the letter <span class="emphasis"><em>a</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mark-old"></a>3.173. mark_old</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not mutt marks <span class="emphasis"><em>new</em></span> <span class="bold"><strong>unread</strong></span>
messages as <span class="emphasis"><em>old</em></span> if you exit a mailbox without reading them.
With this option <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the next time you start mutt, the messages
will show up with an <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">O</span>”</span> next to them in the index menu,
indicating that they are old.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="markers"></a>3.174. markers</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Controls the display of wrapped lines in the internal pager. If set, a
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">+</span>”</span> marker is displayed at the beginning of wrapped lines.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#smart-wrap" title="3.328. smart_wrap">$smart_wrap</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mask"></a>3.175. mask</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: regular expression<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">!^\\.[^.]</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
A regular expression used in the file browser, optionally preceded by
the <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> operator <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">!</span>”</span>.  Only files whose names match this mask
will be shown. The match is always case-sensitive.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mbox"></a>3.176. mbox</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/mbox</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This specifies the folder into which read mail in your <a class="link" href="#spoolfile" title="3.365. spoolfile">$spoolfile</a>
folder will be appended.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#move" title="3.198. move">$move</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mbox-type"></a>3.177. mbox_type</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: folder magic<br />
Default: mbox</p></div><p>
The default mailbox type used when creating new folders. May be any of
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mbox</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">MMDF</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">MH</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Maildir</span>”</span>. This is overridden by the
<code class="literal">-m</code> command-line option.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="menu-context"></a>3.178. menu_context</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
This variable controls the number of lines of context that are given
when scrolling through menus. (Similar to <a class="link" href="#pager-context" title="3.204. pager_context">$pager_context</a>.)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="menu-move-off"></a>3.179. menu_move_off</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, the bottom entry of menus will never scroll up past
the bottom of the screen, unless there are less entries than lines.
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the bottom entry may move off the bottom.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="menu-scroll"></a>3.180. menu_scroll</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, menus will be scrolled up or down one line when you
attempt to move across a screen boundary.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, the screen
is cleared and the next or previous page of the menu is displayed
(useful for slow links to avoid many redraws).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="message-cache-clean"></a>3.181. message_cache_clean</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will clean out obsolete entries from the message cache when
the mailbox is synchronized. You probably only want to set it
every once in a while, since it can be a little slow
(especially for large folders).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="message-cachedir"></a>3.182. message_cachedir</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Set this to a directory and mutt will cache copies of messages from
your IMAP and POP servers here. You are free to remove entries at any
time.
</p><p>
When setting this variable to a directory, mutt needs to fetch every
remote message only once and can perform regular expression searches
as fast as for local folders.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#message-cache-clean" title="3.181. message_cache_clean">$message_cache_clean</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="message-format"></a>3.183. message_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%s</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This is the string displayed in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">attachment</span>”</span> menu for
attachments of type <code class="literal">message/rfc822</code>.  For a full listing of defined
<code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences see the section on <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="message-id-format"></a>3.184. message_id_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">&lt;%z@%f&gt;</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable describes the format of the Message-ID generated
when sending messages.  Mutt 2.0 introduced a more compact
format, but this variable allows the ability to choose your own
format.  The value may end in <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">|</span>”</span> to invoke an external filter.
See <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-filters" title="32.3. Filters">formatstrings-filters</a>.
</p><p>
Please note that the Message-ID value follows a strict syntax,
and you are responsible for ensuring correctness if you change
this from the default.  In particular, the value must follow the
syntax in RFC 5322: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">"&lt;" id-left "@" id-right "&gt;"</code></span>”</span>.  No
spaces are allowed, and <code class="literal">id-left</code> should follow the
dot-atom-text syntax in the RFC.  The <code class="literal">id-right</code> should
generally be left at %f.
</p><p>
The old Message-ID format can be used by setting this to:
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">&lt;%Y%02m%02d%02H%02M%02S.G%c%p@%f&gt;</code></span>”</span>
</p><p>
The following <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-style sequences are understood:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%c </td><td>step counter looping from <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">A</span>”</span> to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Z</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%d </td><td>current day of the month (GMT)
</td></tr><tr><td>%f </td><td><a class="link" href="#hostname" title="3.129. hostname">$hostname</a>
</td></tr><tr><td>%H </td><td>current hour using a 24-hour clock (GMT)
</td></tr><tr><td>%m </td><td>current month number (GMT)
</td></tr><tr><td>%M </td><td>current minute of the hour (GMT)
</td></tr><tr><td>%p </td><td>pid of the running mutt process
</td></tr><tr><td>%r </td><td>3 bytes of pseudorandom data encoded in Base64
</td></tr><tr><td>%S </td><td>current second of the minute (GMT)
</td></tr><tr><td>%x </td><td>1 byte of pseudorandom data hex encoded (example: '1b')
</td></tr><tr><td>%Y </td><td>current year using 4 digits (GMT)
</td></tr><tr><td>%z </td><td>4 byte timestamp + 8 bytes of pseudorandom data encoded in Base64
</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="meta-key"></a>3.185. meta_key</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, forces Mutt to interpret keystrokes with the high bit (bit 8)
set as if the user had pressed the Esc key and whatever key remains
after having the high bit removed.  For example, if the key pressed
has an ASCII value of <code class="literal">0xf8</code>, then this is treated as if the user had
pressed Esc then <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">x</span>”</span>.  This is because the result of removing the
high bit from <code class="literal">0xf8</code> is <code class="literal">0x78</code>, which is the ASCII character
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">x</span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="metoo"></a>3.186. metoo</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will remove your address (see the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses">alternates</a></span>”</span>
command) from the list of recipients when replying to a message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mh-purge"></a>3.187. mh_purge</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, mutt will mimic mh's behavior and rename deleted messages
to <span class="emphasis"><em>,&lt;old file name&gt;</em></span> in mh folders instead of really deleting
them. This leaves the message on disk but makes programs reading the folder
ignore it. If the variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the message files will simply be
deleted.
</p><p>
This option is similar to <a class="link" href="#maildir-trash" title="3.170. maildir_trash">$maildir_trash</a> for Maildir folders.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mh-seq-flagged"></a>3.188. mh_seq_flagged</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">flagged</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
The name of the MH sequence used for flagged messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mh-seq-replied"></a>3.189. mh_seq_replied</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">replied</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
The name of the MH sequence used to tag replied messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mh-seq-unseen"></a>3.190. mh_seq_unseen</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">unseen</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
The name of the MH sequence used for unseen messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mime-forward"></a>3.191. mime_forward</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the message you are forwarding will be attached as a
separate <code class="literal">message/rfc822</code> MIME part instead of included in the main body of the
message.  This is useful for forwarding MIME messages so the receiver
can properly view the message as it was delivered to you. If you like
to switch between MIME and not MIME from mail to mail, set this
variable to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ask-no</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ask-yes</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#forward-decode" title="3.104. forward_decode">$forward_decode</a> and <a class="link" href="#mime-forward-decode" title="3.192. mime_forward_decode">$mime_forward_decode</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mime-forward-decode"></a>3.192. mime_forward_decode</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls the decoding of complex MIME messages into <code class="literal">text/plain</code> when
forwarding a message while <a class="link" href="#mime-forward" title="3.191. mime_forward">$mime_forward</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>. Otherwise
<a class="link" href="#forward-decode" title="3.104. forward_decode">$forward_decode</a> is used instead.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mime-forward-rest"></a>3.193. mime_forward_rest</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When forwarding multiple attachments of a MIME message from the attachment
menu, attachments which cannot be decoded in a reasonable manner will
be attached to the newly composed message if this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mime-type-query-command"></a>3.194. mime_type_query_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This specifies a command to run, to determine the mime type of a
new attachment when composing a message.  Unless
<a class="link" href="#mime-type-query-first" title="3.195. mime_type_query_first">$mime_type_query_first</a> is set, this will only be run if the
attachment's extension is not found in the mime.types file.
</p><p>
The string may contain a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span>, which will be substituted with the
attachment filename.  Mutt will add quotes around the string substituted
for <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span> automatically according to shell quoting rules, so you should
avoid adding your own.  If no <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span> is found in the string, Mutt will
append the attachment filename to the end of the string.
</p><p>
The command should output a single line containing the
attachment's mime type.
</p><p>
Suggested values are <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">xdg-mime query filetype</span>”</span> or
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">file -bi</span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mime-type-query-first"></a>3.195. mime_type_query_first</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the <a class="link" href="#mime-type-query-command" title="3.194. mime_type_query_command">$mime_type_query_command</a> will be run before the
mime.types lookup.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mix-entry-format"></a>3.196. mix_entry_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%4n %c %-16s %a</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable describes the format of a remailer line on the mixmaster
chain selection screen.  The following <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences are
supported:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%n </td><td>The running number on the menu.
</td></tr><tr><td>%c </td><td>Remailer capabilities.
</td></tr><tr><td>%s </td><td>The remailer's short name.
</td></tr><tr><td>%a </td><td>The remailer's e-mail address.
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
(Mixmaster only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mixmaster"></a>3.197. mixmaster</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">mixmaster</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable contains the path to the Mixmaster binary on your
system.  It is used with various sets of parameters to gather the
list of known remailers, and to finally send a message through the
mixmaster chain. (Mixmaster only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="move"></a>3.198. move</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not Mutt will move read messages
from your spool mailbox to your <a class="link" href="#mbox" title="3.176. mbox">$mbox</a> mailbox, or as a result of
a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#mbox-hook" title="15. Using Multiple Spool Mailboxes">mbox-hook</a></span>”</span> command.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="muttlisp-inline-eval"></a>3.199. muttlisp_inline_eval</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will evaluate bare parenthesis arguments to commands
as MuttLisp expressions.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="narrow-tree"></a>3.200. narrow_tree</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This variable, when <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, makes the thread tree narrower, allowing
deeper threads to fit on the screen.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="net-inc"></a>3.201. net_inc</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 10</p></div><p>
Operations that expect to transfer a large amount of data over the
network will update their progress every <a class="link" href="#net-inc" title="3.201. net_inc">$net_inc</a> kilobytes.
If set to 0, no progress messages will be displayed.
</p><p>
See also <a class="link" href="#read-inc" title="3.273. read_inc">$read_inc</a>, <a class="link" href="#write-inc" title="3.418. write_inc">$write_inc</a> and <a class="link" href="#net-inc" title="3.201. net_inc">$net_inc</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="new-mail-command"></a>3.202. new_mail_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will call this command after a new message is received.
See the <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a> documentation for the values that can be formatted
into this command.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager"></a>3.203. pager</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">builtin</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable specifies which pager you would like to use to view
messages. The value <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">builtin</span>”</span> means to use the built-in pager, otherwise this
variable should specify the pathname of the external pager you would
like to use.
</p><p>
The string may contain a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span>, which will be substituted with
the generated message filename.  Mutt will add quotes around the
string substituted for <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span> automatically according to shell
quoting rules, so you should avoid adding your own.  If no <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span>
is found in the string, Mutt will append the message filename to
the end of the string.
</p><p>
Using an external pager may have some disadvantages: Additional
keystrokes are necessary because you can't call mutt functions
directly from the pager, and screen resizes cause lines longer than
the screen width to be badly formatted in the help menu.
</p><p>
When using an external pager, also see <a class="link" href="#prompt-after" title="3.268. prompt_after">$prompt_after</a> which defaults
<span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager-context"></a>3.204. pager_context</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
This variable controls the number of lines of context that are given
when displaying the next or previous page in the internal pager.  By
default, Mutt will display the line after the last one on the screen
at the top of the next page (0 lines of context).
</p><p>
This variable also specifies the amount of context given for search
results. If positive, this many lines will be given before a match,
if 0, the match will be top-aligned.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager-format"></a>3.205. pager_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">-%Z- %C/%m: %-20.20n   %s%*  -- (%P)</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable controls the format of the one-line message <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">status</span>”</span>
displayed before each message in either the internal or an external
pager.  The valid sequences are listed in the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>
section.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager-index-lines"></a>3.206. pager_index_lines</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
Determines the number of lines of a mini-index which is shown when in
the pager.  The current message, unless near the top or bottom of the
folder, will be roughly one third of the way down this mini-index,
giving the reader the context of a few messages before and after the
message.  This is useful, for example, to determine how many messages
remain to be read in the current thread.  One of the lines is reserved
for the status bar from the index, so a setting of 6
will only show 5 lines of the actual index.  A value of 0 results in
no index being shown.  If the number of messages in the current folder
is less than <a class="link" href="#pager-index-lines" title="3.206. pager_index_lines">$pager_index_lines</a>, then the index will only use as
many lines as it needs.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager-skip-quoted-context"></a>3.207. pager_skip_quoted_context</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
Determines the number of lines of context to show before the
unquoted text when using <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#skip-quoted">&lt;skip-quoted&gt;</a></code>. When set to a
positive number at most that many lines of the previous quote are
displayed. If the previous quote is shorter the whole quote is
displayed.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager-stop"></a>3.208. pager_stop</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the internal-pager will <span class="bold"><strong>not</strong></span> move to the next message
when you are at the end of a message and invoke the <code class="literal">&lt;next-page&gt;</code>
function.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pattern-format"></a>3.209. pattern_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%2n %-15e  %d</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable describes the format of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">pattern completion</span>”</span> menu. The
following <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-style sequences are understood:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%d  </td><td>pattern description
</td></tr><tr><td>%e  </td><td>pattern expression
</td></tr><tr><td>%n  </td><td>index number
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-auto-decode"></a>3.210. pgp_auto_decode</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will automatically attempt to decrypt traditional PGP
messages whenever the user performs an operation which ordinarily would
result in the contents of the message being operated on.  For example,
if the user displays a pgp-traditional message which has not been manually
checked with the <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#check-traditional-pgp">&lt;check-traditional-pgp&gt;</a></code> function, mutt will automatically
check the message for traditional pgp.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-autoinline"></a>3.211. pgp_autoinline</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This option controls whether Mutt generates old-style inline
(traditional) PGP encrypted or signed messages under certain
circumstances.  This can be overridden by use of the pgp menu,
when inline is not required.  The GPGME backend does not support
this option.
</p><p>
Note that Mutt might automatically use PGP/MIME for messages
which consist of more than a single MIME part.  Mutt can be
configured to ask before sending PGP/MIME messages when inline
(traditional) would not work.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-mime-auto" title="3.230. pgp_mime_auto">$pgp_mime_auto</a> variable.
</p><p>
Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is <span class="bold"><strong>strongly</strong></span>
<span class="bold"><strong>deprecated</strong></span>.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-check-exit"></a>3.212. pgp_check_exit</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will check the exit code of the PGP subprocess when
signing or encrypting.  A non-zero exit code means that the
subprocess failed.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-check-gpg-decrypt-status-fd"></a>3.213. pgp_check_gpg_decrypt_status_fd</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will check the status file descriptor output
of <a class="link" href="#pgp-decrypt-command" title="3.216. pgp_decrypt_command">$pgp_decrypt_command</a> and <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> for GnuPG status codes
indicating successful decryption.  This will check for the presence of
DECRYPTION_OKAY, absence of DECRYPTION_FAILED, and that all
PLAINTEXT occurs between the BEGIN_DECRYPTION and END_DECRYPTION
status codes.
</p><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, mutt will instead match the status fd output
against <a class="link" href="#pgp-decryption-okay" title="3.217. pgp_decryption_okay">$pgp_decryption_okay</a>.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-clearsign-command"></a>3.214. pgp_clearsign_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This format is used to create an old-style <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">clearsigned</span>”</span> PGP
message.  Note that the use of this format is <span class="bold"><strong>strongly</strong></span>
<span class="bold"><strong>deprecated</strong></span>.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-decode-command"></a>3.215. pgp_decode_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This format strings specifies a command which is used to decode
application/pgp attachments.
</p><p>
The PGP command formats have their own set of <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%p </td><td>Expands to PGPPASSFD=0 when a pass phrase is needed, to an empty
string otherwise. Note: This may be used with a %? construct.
</td></tr><tr><td>%f </td><td>Expands to the name of a file containing a message.
</td></tr><tr><td>%s </td><td>Expands to the name of a file containing the signature part
           of a <code class="literal">multipart/signed</code> attachment when verifying it.
</td></tr><tr><td>%a </td><td>The value of <a class="link" href="#pgp-sign-as" title="3.235. pgp_sign_as">$pgp_sign_as</a> if set, otherwise the value
of <a class="link" href="#pgp-default-key" title="3.218. pgp_default_key">$pgp_default_key</a>.
</td></tr><tr><td>%r </td><td>One or more key IDs (or fingerprints if available).
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
For examples on how to configure these formats for the various versions
of PGP which are floating around, see the pgp and gpg sample configuration files in
the <code class="literal">samples/</code> subdirectory which has been installed on your system
alongside the documentation.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-decrypt-command"></a>3.216. pgp_decrypt_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to decrypt a PGP encrypted message.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-decryption-okay"></a>3.217. pgp_decryption_okay</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: regular expression<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
If you assign text to this variable, then an encrypted PGP
message is only considered successfully decrypted if the output
from <a class="link" href="#pgp-decrypt-command" title="3.216. pgp_decrypt_command">$pgp_decrypt_command</a> contains the text.  This is used to
protect against a spoofed encrypted message, with multipart/encrypted
headers but containing a block that is not actually encrypted.
(e.g. simply signed and ascii armored text).
</p><p>
Note that if <a class="link" href="#pgp-check-gpg-decrypt-status-fd" title="3.213. pgp_check_gpg_decrypt_status_fd">$pgp_check_gpg_decrypt_status_fd</a> is set, this variable
is ignored.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-default-key"></a>3.218. pgp_default_key</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This is the default key-pair to use for PGP operations.  It will be
used for encryption (see <a class="link" href="#postpone-encrypt" title="3.260. postpone_encrypt">$postpone_encrypt</a> and <a class="link" href="#pgp-self-encrypt" title="3.233. pgp_self_encrypt">$pgp_self_encrypt</a>).
</p><p>
It will also be used for signing unless <a class="link" href="#pgp-sign-as" title="3.235. pgp_sign_as">$pgp_sign_as</a> is set.
</p><p>
The (now deprecated) <span class="emphasis"><em>pgp_self_encrypt_as</em></span> is an alias for this
variable, and should no longer be used.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-encrypt-only-command"></a>3.219. pgp_encrypt_only_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to encrypt a body part without signing it.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-encrypt-sign-command"></a>3.220. pgp_encrypt_sign_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to both sign and encrypt a body part.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-entry-format"></a>3.221. pgp_entry_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%4n %t%f %4l/0x%k %-4a %2c %u</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable allows you to customize the PGP key selection menu to
your personal taste. This string is similar to <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>, but
has its own set of <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%n     </td><td>number
</td></tr><tr><td>%k     </td><td>key id
</td></tr><tr><td>%u     </td><td>user id
</td></tr><tr><td>%a     </td><td>algorithm
</td></tr><tr><td>%l     </td><td>key length
</td></tr><tr><td>%f     </td><td>flags
</td></tr><tr><td>%c     </td><td>capabilities
</td></tr><tr><td>%t     </td><td>trust/validity of the key-uid association
</td></tr><tr><td>%[&lt;s&gt;] </td><td>date of the key where &lt;s&gt; is an <code class="literal">strftime(3)</code> expression
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-export-command"></a>3.222. pgp_export_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to export a public key from the user's
key ring.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-getkeys-command"></a>3.223. pgp_getkeys_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is invoked whenever Mutt needs to fetch the public key associated with
an email address.  Of the sequences supported by <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a>, %r is
the only <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequence used with this format.  Note that
in this case, %r expands to the email address, not the public key ID (the key ID is
unknown, which is why Mutt is invoking this command).
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-good-sign"></a>3.224. pgp_good_sign</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: regular expression<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
If you assign a text to this variable, then a PGP signature is only
considered verified if the output from <a class="link" href="#pgp-verify-command" title="3.241. pgp_verify_command">$pgp_verify_command</a> contains
the text. Use this variable if the exit code from the command is 0
even for bad signatures.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-ignore-subkeys"></a>3.225. pgp_ignore_subkeys</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Setting this variable will cause Mutt to ignore OpenPGP subkeys. Instead,
the principal key will inherit the subkeys' capabilities.  <span class="emphasis"><em>Unset</em></span> this
if you want to play interesting key selection games.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-import-command"></a>3.226. pgp_import_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to import a key from a message into
the user's public key ring.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-list-pubring-command"></a>3.227. pgp_list_pubring_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to list the public key ring's contents.  The
output format must be analogous to the one used by

</p><pre class="screen">
gpg --list-keys --with-colons --with-fingerprint
</pre><p>
This format is also generated by the <code class="literal">mutt_pgpring</code> utility which comes
with mutt.
</p><p>
Note: gpg's <code class="literal">fixed-list-mode</code> option should not be used.  It
produces a different date format which may result in mutt showing
incorrect key generation dates.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
Note that in this case, %r expands to the search string, which is a list of
one or more quoted values such as email address, name, or keyid.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-list-secring-command"></a>3.228. pgp_list_secring_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to list the secret key ring's contents.  The
output format must be analogous to the one used by:

</p><pre class="screen">
gpg --list-keys --with-colons --with-fingerprint
</pre><p>
This format is also generated by the <code class="literal">mutt_pgpring</code> utility which comes
with mutt.
</p><p>
Note: gpg's <code class="literal">fixed-list-mode</code> option should not be used.  It
produces a different date format which may result in mutt showing
incorrect key generation dates.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
Note that in this case, %r expands to the search string, which is a list of
one or more quoted values such as email address, name, or keyid.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-long-ids"></a>3.229. pgp_long_ids</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, use 64 bit PGP key IDs, if <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> use the normal 32 bit key IDs.
NOTE: Internally, Mutt has transitioned to using fingerprints (or long key IDs
as a fallback).  This option now only controls the display of key IDs
in the key selection menu and a few other places.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-mime-auto"></a>3.230. pgp_mime_auto</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
This option controls whether Mutt will prompt you for
automatically sending a (signed/encrypted) message using
PGP/MIME when inline (traditional) fails (for any reason).
</p><p>
Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is <span class="bold"><strong>strongly</strong></span>
<span class="bold"><strong>deprecated</strong></span>.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-replyinline"></a>3.231. pgp_replyinline</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Setting this variable will cause Mutt to always attempt to
create an inline (traditional) message when replying to a
message which is PGP encrypted/signed inline.  This can be
overridden by use of the pgp menu, when inline is not
required.  This option does not automatically detect if the
(replied-to) message is inline; instead it relies on Mutt
internals for previously checked/flagged messages.
</p><p>
Note that Mutt might automatically use PGP/MIME for messages
which consist of more than a single MIME part.  Mutt can be
configured to ask before sending PGP/MIME messages when inline
(traditional) would not work.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-mime-auto" title="3.230. pgp_mime_auto">$pgp_mime_auto</a> variable.
</p><p>
Also note that using the old-style PGP message format is <span class="bold"><strong>strongly</strong></span>
<span class="bold"><strong>deprecated</strong></span>.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-retainable-sigs"></a>3.232. pgp_retainable_sigs</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, signed and encrypted messages will consist of nested
<code class="literal">multipart/signed</code> and <code class="literal">multipart/encrypted</code> body parts.
</p><p>
This is useful for applications like encrypted and signed mailing
lists, where the outer layer (<code class="literal">multipart/encrypted</code>) can be easily
removed, while the inner <code class="literal">multipart/signed</code> part is retained.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-self-encrypt"></a>3.233. pgp_self_encrypt</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, PGP encrypted messages will also be encrypted
using the key in <a class="link" href="#pgp-default-key" title="3.218. pgp_default_key">$pgp_default_key</a>.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-show-unusable"></a>3.234. pgp_show_unusable</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will display non-usable keys on the PGP key selection
menu.  This includes keys which have been revoked, have expired, or
have been marked as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">disabled</span>”</span> by the user.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-sign-as"></a>3.235. pgp_sign_as</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
If you have a different key pair to use for signing, you should
set this to the signing key.  Most people will only need to set
<a class="link" href="#pgp-default-key" title="3.218. pgp_default_key">$pgp_default_key</a>.  It is recommended that you use the keyid form
to specify your key (e.g. <code class="literal">0x00112233</code>).
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-sign-command"></a>3.236. pgp_sign_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to create the detached PGP signature for a
<code class="literal">multipart/signed</code> PGP/MIME body part.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-sort-keys"></a>3.237. pgp_sort_keys</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: sort order<br />
Default: address</p></div><p>
Specifies how the entries in the pgp menu are sorted. The
following are legal values:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>address </td><td>sort alphabetically by user id
</td></tr><tr><td>keyid   </td><td>sort alphabetically by key id
</td></tr><tr><td>date    </td><td>sort by key creation date
</td></tr><tr><td>trust   </td><td>sort by the trust of the key
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
If you prefer reverse order of the above values, prefix it with
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span>.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-strict-enc"></a>3.238. pgp_strict_enc</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will automatically encode PGP/MIME signed messages as
quoted-printable.  Please note that unsetting this variable may
lead to problems with non-verifyable PGP signatures, so only change
this if you know what you are doing.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-timeout"></a>3.239. pgp_timeout</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number (long)<br />
Default: 300</p></div><p>
The number of seconds after which a cached passphrase will expire if
not used.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-use-gpg-agent"></a>3.240. pgp_use_gpg_agent</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt expects a <code class="literal">gpg-agent(1)</code> process will handle
private key passphrase prompts.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, mutt will prompt
for the passphrase and pass it via stdin to the pgp command.
</p><p>
Note that as of version 2.1, GnuPG automatically spawns an agent
and requires the agent be used for passphrase management.  Since
that version is increasingly prevalent, this variable now
defaults <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
</p><p>
Mutt works with a GUI or curses pinentry program.  A TTY pinentry
should not be used.
</p><p>
If you are using an older version of GnuPG without an agent running,
or another encryption program without an agent, you will need to
<span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> this variable.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-verify-command"></a>3.241. pgp_verify_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to verify PGP signatures.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-verify-key-command"></a>3.242. pgp_verify_key_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to verify key information from the key selection
menu.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#pgp-decode-command" title="3.215. pgp_decode_command">$pgp_decode_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(PGP only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pipe-decode"></a>3.243. pipe_decode</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Used in connection with the <code class="literal">&lt;pipe-message&gt;</code> function.  When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>,
Mutt will pipe the messages without any preprocessing. When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt
will attempt to decode the messages first.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#pipe-decode-weed" title="3.244. pipe_decode_weed">$pipe_decode_weed</a>, which controls whether headers will
be weeded when this is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pipe-decode-weed"></a>3.244. pipe_decode_weed</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
For <code class="literal">&lt;pipe-message&gt;</code>, when <a class="link" href="#pipe-decode" title="3.243. pipe_decode">$pipe_decode</a> is set, this further
controls whether Mutt will weed headers.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pipe-sep"></a>3.245. pipe_sep</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">\n</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
The separator to add between messages when piping a list of tagged
messages to an external Unix command.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pipe-split"></a>3.246. pipe_split</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Used in connection with the <code class="literal">&lt;pipe-message&gt;</code> function following
<code class="literal">&lt;tag-prefix&gt;</code>.  If this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, when piping a list of
tagged messages Mutt will concatenate the messages and will pipe them
all concatenated.  When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will pipe the messages one by one.
In both cases the messages are piped in the current sorted order,
and the <a class="link" href="#pipe-sep" title="3.245. pipe_sep">$pipe_sep</a> separator is added after each message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-auth-try-all"></a>3.247. pop_auth_try_all</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will try all available authentication methods.
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will only fall back to other authentication
methods if the previous methods are unavailable. If a method is
available but authentication fails, Mutt will not connect to the POP server.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-authenticators"></a>3.248. pop_authenticators</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt may
attempt to use to log in to an POP server, in the order mutt should
try them.  Authentication methods are either <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">user</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">apop</span>”</span> or any
SASL mechanism, e.g. <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">digest-md5</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">gssapi</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">cram-md5</span>”</span>.
This option is case-insensitive. If this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>
(the default) mutt will try all available methods, in order from
most-secure to least-secure.
</p><p>
Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set pop_authenticators="digest-md5:apop:user"
</pre></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-checkinterval"></a>3.249. pop_checkinterval</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 60</p></div><p>
This variable configures how often (in seconds) mutt should look for
new mail in the currently selected mailbox if it is a POP mailbox.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-delete"></a>3.250. pop_delete</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will delete successfully downloaded messages from the POP
server when using the <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#fetch-mail">&lt;fetch-mail&gt;</a></code> function.  When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will
download messages but also leave them on the POP server.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-host"></a>3.251. pop_host</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The name of your POP server for the <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#fetch-mail">&lt;fetch-mail&gt;</a></code> function.  You
can also specify an alternative port, username and password, i.e.:

</p><pre class="screen">
[pop[s]://][username[:password]@]popserver[:port]
</pre><p>
where <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">[...]</span>”</span> denotes an optional part.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-last"></a>3.252. pop_last</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will try to use the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">LAST</code></span>”</span> POP command
for retrieving only unread messages from the POP server when using
the <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#fetch-mail">&lt;fetch-mail&gt;</a></code> function.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-oauth-refresh-command"></a>3.253. pop_oauth_refresh_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The command to run to generate an OAUTH refresh token for
authorizing your connection to your POP server.  This command will be
run on every connection attempt that uses the OAUTHBEARER authentication
mechanism.  See <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#oauth" title="6. OAUTHBEARER Support">oauth</a></span>”</span> for details.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-pass"></a>3.254. pop_pass</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Specifies the password for your POP account.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will
prompt you for your password when you open a POP mailbox.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Warning</strong></span>: you should only use this option when you are on a
fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your muttrc
even if you are the only one who can read the file.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-reconnect"></a>3.255. pop_reconnect</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not Mutt will try to reconnect to the POP server if
the connection is lost.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pop-user"></a>3.256. pop_user</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Your login name on the POP server.
</p><p>
This variable defaults to your user name on the local machine.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="post-indent-string"></a>3.257. post_indent_string</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Similar to the <a class="link" href="#attribution" title="3.20. attribution">$attribution</a> variable, Mutt will append this
string after the inclusion of a message which is being replied to.
For a full listing of defined <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences see
the section on <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="postpone"></a>3.258. postpone</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not messages are saved in the <a class="link" href="#postponed" title="3.259. postponed">$postponed</a>
mailbox when you elect not to send immediately.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#recall" title="3.276. recall">$recall</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="postponed"></a>3.259. postponed</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/postponed</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Mutt allows you to indefinitely <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#postpone" title="3.258. postpone">postpone</a> sending a message</span>”</span> which
you are editing.  When you choose to postpone a message, Mutt saves it
in the mailbox specified by this variable.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#postpone" title="3.258. postpone">$postpone</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="postpone-encrypt"></a>3.260. postpone_encrypt</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, postponed messages that are marked for encryption will be
self-encrypted.  Mutt will first try to encrypt using the value specified
in <a class="link" href="#pgp-default-key" title="3.218. pgp_default_key">$pgp_default_key</a> or <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a>.  If those are not
set, it will try the deprecated <a class="link" href="#postpone-encrypt-as" title="3.261. postpone_encrypt_as">$postpone_encrypt_as</a>.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="postpone-encrypt-as"></a>3.261. postpone_encrypt_as</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This is a deprecated fall-back variable for <a class="link" href="#postpone-encrypt" title="3.260. postpone_encrypt">$postpone_encrypt</a>.
Please use <a class="link" href="#pgp-default-key" title="3.218. pgp_default_key">$pgp_default_key</a> or <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a>.
(Crypto only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="preconnect"></a>3.262. preconnect</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, a shell command to be executed if mutt fails to establish
a connection to the server. This is useful for setting up secure
connections, e.g. with <code class="literal">ssh(1)</code>. If the command returns a  nonzero
status, mutt gives up opening the server. Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set preconnect="ssh -f -q -L 1234:mailhost.net:143 mailhost.net \
sleep 20 &lt; /dev/null &gt; /dev/null"
</pre><p>
Mailbox <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">foo</span>”</span> on <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mailhost.net</span>”</span> can now be reached
as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">{localhost:1234}foo</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
Note: For this example to work, you must be able to log in to the
remote machine without having to enter a password.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="print"></a>3.263. print</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-no</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not Mutt really prints messages.
This is set to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">ask-no</span>”</span> by default, because some people
accidentally hit <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">p</span>”</span> often.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="print-command"></a>3.264. print_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">lpr</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This specifies the command pipe that should be used to print messages.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="print-decode"></a>3.265. print_decode</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Used in connection with the <code class="literal">&lt;print-message&gt;</code> function.  If this
option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the message is decoded before it is passed to the
external command specified by <a class="link" href="#print-command" title="3.264. print_command">$print_command</a>.  If this option
is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, no processing will be applied to the message when
printing it.  The latter setting may be useful if you are using
some advanced printer filter which is able to properly format
e-mail messages for printing.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#print-decode-weed" title="3.266. print_decode_weed">$print_decode_weed</a>, which controls whether headers will
be weeded when this is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="print-decode-weed"></a>3.266. print_decode_weed</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
For <code class="literal">&lt;print-message&gt;</code>, when <a class="link" href="#print-decode" title="3.265. print_decode">$print_decode</a> is set, this
further controls whether Mutt will weed headers.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="print-split"></a>3.267. print_split</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Used in connection with the <code class="literal">&lt;print-message&gt;</code> function.  If this option
is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the command specified by <a class="link" href="#print-command" title="3.264. print_command">$print_command</a> is executed once for
each message which is to be printed.  If this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>,
the command specified by <a class="link" href="#print-command" title="3.264. print_command">$print_command</a> is executed only once, and
all the messages are concatenated, with a form feed as the message
separator.
</p><p>
Those who use the <code class="literal">enscript</code>(1) program's mail-printing mode will
most likely want to <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> this option.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="prompt-after"></a>3.268. prompt_after</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If you use an <span class="emphasis"><em>external</em></span> <a class="link" href="#pager" title="3.203. pager">$pager</a>, setting this variable will
cause Mutt to prompt you for a command when the pager exits rather
than returning to the index menu.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will return to the
index menu when the external pager exits.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="query-command"></a>3.269. query_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This specifies the command Mutt will use to make external address
queries.  The string may contain a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span>, which will be substituted
with the query string the user types.  Mutt will add quotes around the
string substituted for <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span> automatically according to shell quoting
rules, so you should avoid adding your own.  If no <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span> is found in
the string, Mutt will append the user's query to the end of the string.
See <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#query" title="8. External Address Queries">query</a></span>”</span> for more information.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="query-format"></a>3.270. query_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%4c %t %-25.25a %-25.25n %?e?(%e)?</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable describes the format of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">query</span>”</span> menu. The
following <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-style sequences are understood:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%a  </td><td>destination address
</td></tr><tr><td>%c  </td><td>current entry number
</td></tr><tr><td>%e  </td><td>extra information *
</td></tr><tr><td>%n  </td><td>destination name
</td></tr><tr><td>%t  </td><td><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">*</span>”</span> if current entry is tagged, a space otherwise
</td></tr><tr><td>%&gt;X </td><td>right justify the rest of the string and pad with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%|X </td><td>pad to the end of the line with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%*X </td><td>soft-fill with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span> as pad
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
For an explanation of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">soft-fill</span>”</span>, see the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> documentation.
</p><p>
* = can be optionally printed if nonzero, see the <a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a> documentation.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="quit"></a>3.271. quit</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable controls whether <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">quit</span>”</span> and <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">exit</span>”</span> actually quit
from mutt.  If this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, they do quit, if it is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, they
have no effect, and if it is set to <span class="emphasis"><em>ask-yes</em></span> or <span class="emphasis"><em>ask-no</em></span>, you are
prompted for confirmation when you try to quit.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="quote-regexp"></a>3.272. quote_regexp</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: regular expression<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">^([ \t]*[|&gt;:}#])+</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
A regular expression used in the internal pager to determine quoted
sections of text in the body of a message. Quoted text may be filtered
out using the <code class="literal">&lt;toggle-quoted&gt;</code> command, or colored according to the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">color quoted</span>”</span> family of directives.
</p><p>
Higher levels of quoting may be colored differently (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">color quoted1</span>”</span>,
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">color quoted2</span>”</span>, etc.). The quoting level is determined by removing
the last character from the matched text and recursively reapplying
the regular expression until it fails to produce a match.
</p><p>
Match detection may be overridden by the <a class="link" href="#smileys" title="3.329. smileys">$smileys</a> regular expression.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="read-inc"></a>3.273. read_inc</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 10</p></div><p>
If set to a value greater than 0, Mutt will display which message it
is currently on when reading a mailbox or when performing search actions
such as search and limit. The message is printed after
this many messages have been read or searched (e.g., if set to 25, Mutt will
print a message when it is at message 25, and then again when it gets
to message 50).  This variable is meant to indicate progress when
reading or searching large mailboxes which may take some time.
When set to 0, only a single message will appear before the reading
the mailbox.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#write-inc" title="3.418. write_inc">$write_inc</a>, <a class="link" href="#net-inc" title="3.201. net_inc">$net_inc</a> and <a class="link" href="#time-inc" title="3.392. time_inc">$time_inc</a> variables and the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#tuning" title="Chapter 8. Performance Tuning">tuning</a></span>”</span> section of the manual for performance considerations.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="read-only"></a>3.274. read_only</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, all folders are opened in read-only mode.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="realname"></a>3.275. realname</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable specifies what <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">real</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">personal</span>”</span> name should be used
when sending messages.
</p><p>
By default, this is the GECOS field from <code class="literal">/etc/passwd</code>.  Note that this
variable will <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> be used when the user has set a real name
in the <a class="link" href="#from" title="3.109. from">$from</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="recall"></a>3.276. recall</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether or not Mutt recalls postponed messages
when composing a new message.
</p><p>
Setting this variable to <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span> is not generally useful, and thus not
recommended.  Note that the <code class="literal">&lt;recall-message&gt;</code> function can be used
to manually recall postponed messages.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#postponed" title="3.259. postponed">$postponed</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="record"></a>3.277. record</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/sent</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This specifies the file into which your outgoing messages should be
appended.  (This is meant as the primary method for saving a copy of
your messages, but another way to do this is using the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a></span>”</span>
command to create a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Bcc:</span>”</span> field with your email address in it.)
</p><p>
The value of <span class="emphasis"><em><a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a></em></span> is overridden by the <a class="link" href="#force-name" title="3.100. force_name">$force_name</a> and
<a class="link" href="#save-name" title="3.294. save_name">$save_name</a> variables, and the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#fcc-hook" title="19. Specify Default Fcc: Mailbox When Composing">fcc-hook</a></span>”</span> command.  Also see <a class="link" href="#copy" title="3.52. copy">$copy</a>
and <a class="link" href="#write-bcc" title="3.417. write_bcc">$write_bcc</a>.
</p><p>
Multiple mailboxes may be specified if <a class="link" href="#fcc-delimiter" title="3.95. fcc_delimiter">$fcc_delimiter</a> is
set to a string delimiter.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reflow-space-quotes"></a>3.278. reflow_space_quotes</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This option controls how quotes from format=flowed messages are displayed
in the pager and when replying (with <a class="link" href="#text-flowed" title="3.388. text_flowed">$text_flowed</a> <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>).
When set, this option adds spaces after each level of quote marks, turning
"&gt;&gt;&gt;foo" into "&gt; &gt; &gt; foo".
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> If <a class="link" href="#reflow-text" title="3.279. reflow_text">$reflow_text</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, this option has no effect.
Also, this option does not affect replies when <a class="link" href="#text-flowed" title="3.388. text_flowed">$text_flowed</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reflow-text"></a>3.279. reflow_text</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will reformat paragraphs in text/plain
parts marked format=flowed.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will display paragraphs
unaltered from how they appear in the message body.  See RFC3676 for
details on the <span class="emphasis"><em>format=flowed</em></span> format.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#reflow-wrap" title="3.280. reflow_wrap">$reflow_wrap</a>, and <a class="link" href="#wrap" title="3.413. wrap">$wrap</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reflow-wrap"></a>3.280. reflow_wrap</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 78</p></div><p>
This variable controls the maximum paragraph width when reformatting text/plain
parts when <a class="link" href="#reflow-text" title="3.279. reflow_text">$reflow_text</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.  When the value is 0, paragraphs will
be wrapped at the terminal's right margin.  A positive value sets the
paragraph width relative to the left margin.  A negative value set the
paragraph width relative to the right margin.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#wrap" title="3.413. wrap">$wrap</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reply-regexp"></a>3.281. reply_regexp</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: regular expression (localized)<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">^(re)(\\[[0-9]+\\])*:[ \t]*</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
A regular expression used to recognize reply messages when
threading and replying. The default value corresponds to the
standard Latin "Re:" prefix.
</p><p>
This value may have been localized by the translator for your
locale, adding other prefixes that are common in the locale. You
can add your own prefixes by appending inside <code class="literal">"^(re)"</code>.  For
example: <code class="literal">"^(re|se)"</code> or <code class="literal">"^(re|aw|se)"</code>.
</p><p>
The second parenthesized expression matches zero or more
bracketed numbers following the prefix, such as <code class="literal">"Re[1]: "</code>.
The initial <code class="literal">"\\["</code> means a literal left-bracket character.
Note the backslash must be doubled when used inside a double
quoted string in the muttrc.  <code class="literal">"[0-9]+"</code> means one or more
numbers.  <code class="literal">"\\]"</code> means a literal right-bracket.  Finally the
whole parenthesized expression has a <code class="literal">"*"</code> suffix, meaning it
can occur zero or more times.
</p><p>
The last part matches a colon followed by an optional space or
tab.  Note <code class="literal">"\t"</code> is converted to a literal tab inside a
double quoted string.  If you use a single quoted string, you
would have to type an actual tab character, and would need to
convert the double-backslashes to single backslashes.
</p><p>
Note: the result of this regexp match against the subject is
stored in the header cache.  Mutt isn't smart enough to
invalidate a header cache entry based on changing <a class="link" href="#reply-regexp" title="3.281. reply_regexp">$reply_regexp</a>,
so if you aren't seeing correct values in the index, try
temporarily turning off the header cache.  If that fixes the
problem, then once the variable is set to your liking, remove
your stale header cache files and turn the header cache back on.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reply-self"></a>3.282. reply_self</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span> and you are replying to a message sent by you, Mutt will
assume that you want to reply to the recipients of that message rather
than to yourself.
</p><p>
Also see the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses">alternates</a></span>”</span> command.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reply-to"></a>3.283. reply_to</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: ask-yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, when replying to a message, Mutt will use the address listed
in the Reply-to: header as the recipient of the reply.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>,
it will use the address in the From: header field instead.  This
option is useful for reading a mailing list that sets the Reply-To:
header field to the list address and you want to send a private
message to the author of a message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="resolve"></a>3.284. resolve</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the cursor will be automatically advanced to the next
(possibly undeleted) message whenever a command that modifies the
current message is executed.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="resume-draft-files"></a>3.285. resume_draft_files</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, draft files (specified by <code class="literal">-H</code> on the command
line) are processed similarly to when resuming a postponed
message.  Recipients are not prompted for; send-hooks are not
evaluated; no alias expansion takes place; user-defined headers
and signatures are not added to the message.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="resume-edited-draft-files"></a>3.286. resume_edited_draft_files</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, draft files previously edited (via <code class="literal">-E -H</code> on
the command line) will have <a class="link" href="#resume-draft-files" title="3.285. resume_draft_files">$resume_draft_files</a> automatically
set when they are used as a draft file again.
</p><p>
The first time a draft file is saved, mutt will add a header,
X-Mutt-Resume-Draft to the saved file.  The next time the draft
file is read in, if mutt sees the header, it will set
<a class="link" href="#resume-draft-files" title="3.285. resume_draft_files">$resume_draft_files</a>.
</p><p>
This option is designed to prevent multiple signatures,
user-defined headers, and other processing effects from being
made multiple times to the draft file.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reverse-alias"></a>3.287. reverse_alias</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This variable controls whether or not Mutt will display the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">personal</span>”</span>
name from your aliases in the index menu if it finds an alias that
matches the message's sender.  For example, if you have the following
alias:

</p><pre class="screen">
alias juser abd30425@somewhere.net (Joe User)
</pre><p>
and then you receive mail which contains the following header:

</p><pre class="screen">
From: abd30425@somewhere.net
</pre><p>
It would be displayed in the index menu as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Joe User</span>”</span> instead of
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">abd30425@somewhere.net.</span>”</span>  This is useful when the person's e-mail
address is not human friendly.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reverse-name"></a>3.288. reverse_name</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
It may sometimes arrive that you receive mail to a certain machine,
move the messages to another machine, and reply to some the messages
from there.  If this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the default <span class="emphasis"><em>From:</em></span> line of
the reply messages is built using the address where you received the
messages you are replying to <span class="bold"><strong>if</strong></span> that address matches your
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses">alternates</a></span>”</span>.  If the variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, or the address that would be
used doesn't match your <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses">alternates</a></span>”</span>, the <span class="emphasis"><em>From:</em></span> line will use
your address on the current machine.
</p><p>
Also see the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#alternates" title="13. Alternative Addresses">alternates</a></span>”</span> command and <a class="link" href="#reverse-realname" title="3.289. reverse_realname">$reverse_realname</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="reverse-realname"></a>3.289. reverse_realname</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable fine-tunes the behavior of the <a class="link" href="#reverse-name" title="3.288. reverse_name">$reverse_name</a> feature.
</p><p>
When it is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will remove the real name part of a
matching address.  This allows the use of the email address
without having to also use what the sender put in the real name
field.
</p><p>
When it is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will use the matching address as-is.
</p><p>
In either case, a missing real name will be filled in afterwards
using the value of <a class="link" href="#realname" title="3.275. realname">$realname</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="rfc2047-parameters"></a>3.290. rfc2047_parameters</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will decode RFC2047-encoded MIME
parameters. You want to set this variable when mutt suggests you
to save attachments to files named like:

</p><pre class="screen">
=?iso-8859-1?Q?file=5F=E4=5F991116=2Ezip?=
</pre><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> interactively, the change won't be
active until you change folders.
</p><p>
Note that this use of RFC2047's encoding is explicitly
prohibited by the standard, but nevertheless encountered in the
wild.
</p><p>
Also note that setting this parameter will <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> have the effect
that mutt <span class="emphasis"><em>generates</em></span> this kind of encoding.  Instead, mutt will
unconditionally use the encoding specified in RFC2231.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="save-address"></a>3.291. save_address</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will take the sender's full address when choosing a
default folder for saving a mail. If <a class="link" href="#save-name" title="3.294. save_name">$save_name</a> or <a class="link" href="#force-name" title="3.100. force_name">$force_name</a>
is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> too, the selection of the Fcc folder will be changed as well.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="save-empty"></a>3.292. save_empty</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, mailboxes which contain no saved messages will be removed
when closed (the exception is <a class="link" href="#spoolfile" title="3.365. spoolfile">$spoolfile</a> which is never removed).
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mailboxes are never removed.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> This only applies to mbox and MMDF folders, Mutt does not
delete MH and Maildir directories.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="save-history"></a>3.293. save_history</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
This variable controls the size of the history (per category) saved in the
<a class="link" href="#history-file" title="3.125. history_file">$history_file</a> file.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="save-name"></a>3.294. save_name</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This variable controls how copies of outgoing messages are saved.
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, a check is made to see if a mailbox specified by the
recipient address exists (this is done by searching for a mailbox in
the <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a> directory with the <span class="emphasis"><em>username</em></span> part of the
recipient address).  If the mailbox exists, the outgoing message will
be saved to that mailbox, otherwise the message is saved to the
<a class="link" href="#record" title="3.277. record">$record</a> mailbox.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#force-name" title="3.100. force_name">$force_name</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="score"></a>3.295. score</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, scoring is turned off.  This can
be useful to selectively disable scoring for certain folders when the
<a class="link" href="#score-threshold-delete" title="3.296. score_threshold_delete">$score_threshold_delete</a> variable and related are used.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="score-threshold-delete"></a>3.296. score_threshold_delete</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: -1</p></div><p>
Messages which have been assigned a score equal to or lower than the value
of this variable are automatically marked for deletion by mutt.  Since
mutt scores are always greater than or equal to zero, the default setting
of this variable will never mark a message for deletion.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="score-threshold-flag"></a>3.297. score_threshold_flag</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 9999</p></div><p>
Messages which have been assigned a score greater than or equal to this
variable's value are automatically marked "flagged".
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="score-threshold-read"></a>3.298. score_threshold_read</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: -1</p></div><p>
Messages which have been assigned a score equal to or lower than the value
of this variable are automatically marked as read by mutt.  Since
mutt scores are always greater than or equal to zero, the default setting
of this variable will never mark a message read.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="search-context"></a>3.299. search_context</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
For the pager, this variable specifies the number of lines shown
before search results. By default, search results will be top-aligned.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="send-charset"></a>3.300. send_charset</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">us-ascii:iso-8859-1:utf-8</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
A colon-delimited list of character sets for outgoing messages. Mutt will use the
first character set into which the text can be converted exactly.
If your <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">$charset</a> is not <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">iso-8859-1</span>”</span> and recipients may not
understand <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">UTF-8</span>”</span>, it is advisable to include in the list an
appropriate widely used standard character set (such as
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">iso-8859-2</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">koi8-r</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">iso-2022-jp</span>”</span>) either instead of or after
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">iso-8859-1</span>”</span>.
</p><p>
In case the text cannot be converted into one of these exactly,
mutt uses <a class="link" href="#charset" title="3.41. charset">$charset</a> as a fallback.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="send-multipart-alternative"></a>3.301. send_multipart_alternative</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will generate a multipart/alternative
container and an alternative part using the filter script specified in
<a class="link" href="#send-multipart-alternative-filter" title="3.302. send_multipart_alternative_filter">$send_multipart_alternative_filter</a>.
See the section <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">MIME Multipart/Alternative</span>”</span> (<a class="link" href="#alternative-order" title="5. MIME Multipart/Alternative">alternative-order</a>).
</p><p>
Note that enabling multipart/alternative is not compatible with inline
PGP encryption.  Mutt will prompt to use PGP/MIME in that case.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="send-multipart-alternative-filter"></a>3.302. send_multipart_alternative_filter</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This specifies a filter script, which will convert the main
(composed) message of the email to an alternative format.  The
message will be piped to the filter's stdin.  The expected output
of the filter is the generated mime type, e.g. text/html,
followed by a blank line, and then the converted content.
See the section <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">MIME Multipart/Alternative</span>”</span> (<a class="link" href="#alternative-order" title="5. MIME Multipart/Alternative">alternative-order</a>).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sendmail"></a>3.303. sendmail</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">/usr/sbin/sendmail -oem -oi</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Specifies the program and arguments used to deliver mail sent by Mutt.
Mutt expects that the specified program interprets additional
arguments as recipient addresses.  Mutt appends all recipients after
adding a <code class="literal">--</code> delimiter (if not already present).  Additional
flags, such as for <a class="link" href="#use-8bitmime" title="3.404. use_8bitmime">$use_8bitmime</a>, <a class="link" href="#use-envelope-from" title="3.406. use_envelope_from">$use_envelope_from</a>,
<a class="link" href="#dsn-notify" title="3.81. dsn_notify">$dsn_notify</a>, or <a class="link" href="#dsn-return" title="3.82. dsn_return">$dsn_return</a> will be added before the delimiter.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> This command is invoked differently from most other
commands in Mutt.  It is tokenized by space, and invoked directly
via <code class="literal">execvp(3)</code> with an array of arguments - so commands or
arguments with spaces in them are not supported.  The shell is
not used to run the command, so shell quoting is also not
supported.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>See also:</strong></span> <a class="link" href="#write-bcc" title="3.417. write_bcc">$write_bcc</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sendmail-wait"></a>3.304. sendmail_wait</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
Specifies the number of seconds to wait for the <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a> process
to finish before giving up and putting delivery in the background.
</p><p>
Mutt interprets the value of this variable as follows:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>&gt;0 </td><td>number of seconds to wait for sendmail to finish before continuing
</td></tr><tr><td>0  </td><td>wait forever for sendmail to finish
</td></tr><tr><td>&lt;0 </td><td>always put sendmail in the background without waiting
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
Note that if you specify a value other than 0, the output of the child
process will be put in a temporary file.  If there is some error, you
will be informed as to where to find the output.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="shell"></a>3.305. shell</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Command to use when spawning a subshell.  By default, the user's login
shell from <code class="literal">/etc/passwd</code> is used.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-delim-chars"></a>3.306. sidebar_delim_chars</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">/.</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This contains the list of characters which you would like to treat
as folder separators for displaying paths in the sidebar.
</p><p>
Local mail is often arranged in directories: `dir1/dir2/mailbox'.

</p><pre class="screen">
set sidebar_delim_chars='/'
</pre><p>
IMAP mailboxes are often named: `folder1.folder2.mailbox'.

</p><pre class="screen">
set sidebar_delim_chars='.'
</pre><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>See also:</strong></span> <a class="link" href="#sidebar-short-path" title="3.314. sidebar_short_path">$sidebar_short_path</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-folder-indent" title="3.308. sidebar_folder_indent">$sidebar_folder_indent</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-indent-string" title="3.310. sidebar_indent_string">$sidebar_indent_string</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-divider-char"></a>3.307. sidebar_divider_char</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">|</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This specifies the characters to be drawn between the sidebar (when
visible) and the other Mutt panels. ASCII and Unicode line-drawing
characters are supported.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-folder-indent"></a>3.308. sidebar_folder_indent</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Set this to indent mailboxes in the sidebar.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>See also:</strong></span> <a class="link" href="#sidebar-short-path" title="3.314. sidebar_short_path">$sidebar_short_path</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-indent-string" title="3.310. sidebar_indent_string">$sidebar_indent_string</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-delim-chars" title="3.306. sidebar_delim_chars">$sidebar_delim_chars</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-format"></a>3.309. sidebar_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%B%*  %n</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable allows you to customize the sidebar display. This string is
similar to <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>, but has its own set of <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like
sequences:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%B  </td><td>Name of the mailbox
</td></tr><tr><td>%S  </td><td>* Size of mailbox (total number of messages)
</td></tr><tr><td>%N  </td><td>* Number of unread messages in the mailbox
</td></tr><tr><td>%n  </td><td>N if mailbox has new mail, blank otherwise
</td></tr><tr><td>%F  </td><td>* Number of Flagged messages in the mailbox
</td></tr><tr><td>%!  </td><td><span class="quote">“<span class="quote">!</span>”</span> : one flagged message;
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">!!</span>”</span> : two flagged messages;
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">n!</span>”</span> : n flagged messages (for n &gt; 2).
Otherwise prints nothing.
</td></tr><tr><td>%d  </td><td>* @ Number of deleted messages
</td></tr><tr><td>%L  </td><td>* @ Number of messages after limiting
</td></tr><tr><td>%t  </td><td>* @ Number of tagged messages
</td></tr><tr><td>%&gt;X </td><td>right justify the rest of the string and pad with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%|X </td><td>pad to the end of the line with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%*X </td><td>soft-fill with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span> as pad
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
* = Can be optionally printed if nonzero
@ = Only applicable to the current folder
</p><p>
In order to use %S, %N, %F, and %!, <a class="link" href="#mail-check-stats" title="3.165. mail_check_stats">$mail_check_stats</a> must
be <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.  When thus set, a suggested value for this option is
"%B%?F? [%F]?%* %?N?%N/?%S".
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-indent-string"></a>3.310. sidebar_indent_string</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">  </code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This specifies the string that is used to indent mailboxes in the sidebar.
It defaults to two spaces.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>See also:</strong></span> <a class="link" href="#sidebar-short-path" title="3.314. sidebar_short_path">$sidebar_short_path</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-folder-indent" title="3.308. sidebar_folder_indent">$sidebar_folder_indent</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-delim-chars" title="3.306. sidebar_delim_chars">$sidebar_delim_chars</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-new-mail-only"></a>3.311. sidebar_new_mail_only</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When set, the sidebar will only display mailboxes containing new, or
flagged, mail.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>See also:</strong></span> <a class="link" href="#sidebar-whitelist" title="11.4. Commands">sidebar_whitelist</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-next-new-wrap"></a>3.312. sidebar_next_new_wrap</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When set, the <code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-next-new&gt;</code> command will not stop and the end of
the list of mailboxes, but wrap around to the beginning. The
<code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-prev-new&gt;</code> command is similarly affected, wrapping around to
the end of the list.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-relative-shortpath-indent"></a>3.313. sidebar_relative_shortpath_indent</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When set, this option changes how <a class="link" href="#sidebar-short-path" title="3.314. sidebar_short_path">$sidebar_short_path</a> and
<a class="link" href="#sidebar-folder-indent" title="3.308. sidebar_folder_indent">$sidebar_folder_indent</a> perform shortening and indentation: both
will look at the previous sidebar entries and shorten/indent
relative to the most recent parent.
</p><p>
An example of this option set/unset for mailboxes listed in this
order, with <a class="link" href="#sidebar-short-path" title="3.314. sidebar_short_path">$sidebar_short_path</a>=yes,
<a class="link" href="#sidebar-folder-indent" title="3.308. sidebar_folder_indent">$sidebar_folder_indent</a>=yes, and <a class="link" href="#sidebar-indent-string" title="3.310. sidebar_indent_string">$sidebar_indent_string</a>="→":

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><span class="bold"><strong>mailbox</strong></span>  </td><td><span class="bold"><strong>set</strong></span>   </td><td><span class="bold"><strong>unset</strong></span>
</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">=a.b</code>     </td><td><code class="literal">=a.b</code>  </td><td><code class="literal">→b</code>
</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">=a.b.c.d</code> </td><td><code class="literal">→c.d</code>  </td><td><code class="literal">→→→d</code>
</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">=a.b.e</code>   </td><td><code class="literal">→e</code>    </td><td><code class="literal">→→e</code>
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
The second line illustrates most clearly.  With this option set,
<code class="literal">=a.b.c.d</code> is shortened relative to <code class="literal">=a.b</code>, becoming
<code class="literal">c.d</code>; it is also indented one place relative to <code class="literal">=a.b</code>.
With this option unset <code class="literal">=a.b.c.d</code> is always shortened to the
last part of the mailbox, <code class="literal">d</code> and is indented three places,
with respect to <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a> (represented by '=').
</p><p>
When set, the third line will also be indented and shortened
relative to the first line.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-short-path"></a>3.314. sidebar_short_path</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
By default the sidebar will show the mailbox's path, relative to the
<a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a> variable. Setting <code class="literal">sidebar_shortpath=yes</code> will shorten the
names relative to the previous name. Here's an example:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td><span class="bold"><strong>shortpath=no</strong></span> </td><td><span class="bold"><strong>shortpath=yes</strong></span> </td><td><span class="bold"><strong>shortpath=yes, folderindent=yes, indentstr=".."</strong></span>
</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">fruit</code>        </td><td><code class="literal">fruit</code>         </td><td><code class="literal">fruit</code>
</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">fruit.apple</code>  </td><td><code class="literal">apple</code>         </td><td><code class="literal">..apple</code>
</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">fruit.banana</code> </td><td><code class="literal">banana</code>        </td><td><code class="literal">..banana</code>
</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">fruit.cherry</code> </td><td><code class="literal">cherry</code>        </td><td><code class="literal">..cherry</code>
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>See also:</strong></span> <a class="link" href="#sidebar-delim-chars" title="3.306. sidebar_delim_chars">$sidebar_delim_chars</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-folder-indent" title="3.308. sidebar_folder_indent">$sidebar_folder_indent</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-indent-string" title="3.310. sidebar_indent_string">$sidebar_indent_string</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-sort-method"></a>3.315. sidebar_sort_method</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: sort order<br />
Default: unsorted</p></div><p>
Specifies how to sort mailbox entries in the sidebar.  By default, the
entries are sorted alphabetically.  Valid values:

</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>alpha (alphabetically)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>count (all message count)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>flagged (flagged message count)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>name (alphabetically)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>new (unread message count)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>path (alphabetically)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>unread (unread message count)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>unsorted
</p></li></ul></div><p>
You may optionally use the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span> prefix to specify reverse sorting
order (example: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">set sidebar_sort_method=reverse-alpha</code></span>”</span>).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-use-mailbox-shortcuts"></a>3.316. sidebar_use_mailbox_shortcuts</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When set, sidebar mailboxes will be displayed with mailbox shortcut prefixes
"=" or "~".
</p><p>
When unset, the sidebar will trim off a matching <a class="link" href="#folder" title="3.97. folder">$folder</a> prefix
but otherwise not use mailbox shortcuts.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-visible"></a>3.317. sidebar_visible</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This specifies whether or not to show sidebar. The sidebar shows a list of
all your mailboxes.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>See also:</strong></span> <a class="link" href="#sidebar-format" title="3.309. sidebar_format">$sidebar_format</a>, <a class="link" href="#sidebar-width" title="3.318. sidebar_width">$sidebar_width</a>
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sidebar-width"></a>3.318. sidebar_width</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 30</p></div><p>
This controls the width of the sidebar.  It is measured in screen columns.
For example: sidebar_width=20 could display 20 ASCII characters, or 10
Chinese characters.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sig-dashes"></a>3.319. sig_dashes</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, a line containing <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-- </span>”</span> (note the trailing space) will be inserted before your
<a class="link" href="#signature" title="3.321. signature">$signature</a>.  It is <span class="bold"><strong>strongly</strong></span> recommended that you not <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>
this variable unless your signature contains just your name.  The
reason for this is because many software packages use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-- \n</span>”</span> to
detect your signature.  For example, Mutt has the ability to highlight
the signature in a different color in the built-in pager.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sig-on-top"></a>3.320. sig_on_top</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the signature will be included before any quoted or forwarded
text.  It is <span class="bold"><strong>strongly</strong></span> recommended that you do not set this variable
unless you really know what you are doing, and are prepared to take
some heat from netiquette guardians.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="signature"></a>3.321. signature</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~/.signature</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Specifies the filename of your signature, which is appended to all
outgoing messages.   If the filename ends with a pipe (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">|</span>”</span>), it is
assumed that filename is a shell command and input should be read from
its standard output.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="simple-search"></a>3.322. simple_search</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~f %s | ~s %s</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Specifies how Mutt should expand a simple search into a real search
pattern.  A simple search is one that does not contain any of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~</span>”</span> pattern
modifiers.  See <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">patterns</a></span>”</span> for more information on search patterns.
</p><p>
For example, if you simply type <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">joe</span>”</span> at a search or limit prompt, Mutt
will automatically expand it to the value specified by this variable by
replacing <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%s</span>”</span> with the supplied string.
For the default value, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">joe</span>”</span> would be expanded to: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~f joe | ~s joe</span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="size-show-bytes"></a>3.323. size_show_bytes</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, message sizes will display bytes for values less than
1 kilobyte.  See <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="size-show-fractions"></a>3.324. size_show_fractions</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, message sizes will be displayed with a single decimal value
for sizes from 0 to 10 kilobytes and 1 to 10 megabytes.
See <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="size-show-mb"></a>3.325. size_show_mb</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, message sizes will display megabytes for values greater than
or equal to 1 megabyte.  See <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="size-units-on-left"></a>3.326. size_units_on_left</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, message sizes units will be displayed to the left of the number.
See <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sleep-time"></a>3.327. sleep_time</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 1</p></div><p>
Specifies time, in seconds, to pause while displaying certain informational
messages, while moving from folder to folder and after expunging
messages from the current folder.  The default is to pause one second, so
a value of zero for this option suppresses the pause.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smart-wrap"></a>3.328. smart_wrap</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Controls the display of lines longer than the screen width in the
internal pager. If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, long lines are wrapped at a word boundary.  If
<span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, lines are simply wrapped at the screen edge. Also see the
<a class="link" href="#markers" title="3.174. markers">$markers</a> variable.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smileys"></a>3.329. smileys</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: regular expression<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">(&gt;From )|(:[-^]?[][)(&gt;&lt;}{|/DP])</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
The <span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> uses this variable to catch some common false
positives of <a class="link" href="#quote-regexp" title="3.272. quote_regexp">$quote_regexp</a>, most notably smileys and not consider
a line quoted text if it also matches <a class="link" href="#smileys" title="3.329. smileys">$smileys</a>. This mostly
happens at the beginning of a line.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-ask-cert-label"></a>3.330. smime_ask_cert_label</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This flag controls whether you want to be asked to enter a label
for a certificate about to be added to the database or not. It is
<span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> by default.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-ca-location"></a>3.331. smime_ca_location</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable contains the name of either a directory, or a file which
contains trusted certificates for use with OpenSSL.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-certificates"></a>3.332. smime_certificates</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Since for S/MIME there is no pubring/secring as with PGP, mutt has to handle
storage and retrieval of keys by itself. This is very basic right
now, and keys and certificates are stored in two different
directories, both named as the hash-value retrieved from
OpenSSL. There is an index file which contains mailbox-address
keyid pairs, and which can be manually edited. This option points to
the location of the certificates.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-decrypt-command"></a>3.333. smime_decrypt_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This format string specifies a command which is used to decrypt
<code class="literal">application/x-pkcs7-mime</code> attachments.
</p><p>
The OpenSSL command formats have their own set of <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences
similar to PGP's:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%f </td><td>Expands to the name of a file containing a message.
</td></tr><tr><td>%s </td><td>Expands to the name of a file containing the signature part
           of a <code class="literal">multipart/signed</code> attachment when verifying it.
</td></tr><tr><td>%k </td><td>The key-pair specified with <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a>
</td></tr><tr><td>%c </td><td>One or more certificate IDs.
</td></tr><tr><td>%a </td><td>The algorithm used for encryption.
</td></tr><tr><td>%d </td><td>The message digest algorithm specified with <a class="link" href="#smime-sign-digest-alg" title="3.348. smime_sign_digest_alg">$smime_sign_digest_alg</a>.
</td></tr><tr><td>%C </td><td>CA location:  Depending on whether <a class="link" href="#smime-ca-location" title="3.331. smime_ca_location">$smime_ca_location</a>
           points to a directory or file, this expands to
           <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-CApath <a class="link" href="#smime-ca-location" title="3.331. smime_ca_location">$smime_ca_location</a></span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">-CAfile <a class="link" href="#smime-ca-location" title="3.331. smime_ca_location">$smime_ca_location</a></span>”</span>.
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
For examples on how to configure these formats, see the <code class="literal">smime.rc</code> in
the <code class="literal">samples/</code> subdirectory which has been installed on your system
alongside the documentation.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-decrypt-use-default-key"></a>3.334. smime_decrypt_use_default_key</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> (default) this tells mutt to use the default key for decryption. Otherwise,
if managing multiple certificate-key-pairs, mutt will try to use the mailbox-address
to determine the key to use. It will ask you to supply a key, if it can't find one.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-default-key"></a>3.335. smime_default_key</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This is the default key-pair to use for S/MIME operations, and must be
set to the keyid (the hash-value that OpenSSL generates) to work properly.
</p><p>
It will be used for encryption (see <a class="link" href="#postpone-encrypt" title="3.260. postpone_encrypt">$postpone_encrypt</a> and
<a class="link" href="#smime-self-encrypt" title="3.345. smime_self_encrypt">$smime_self_encrypt</a>). If GPGME is enabled, this is the key id displayed
by gpgsm.
</p><p>
It will be used for decryption unless <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-use-default-key" title="3.334. smime_decrypt_use_default_key">$smime_decrypt_use_default_key</a>
is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>.
</p><p>
It will also be used for signing unless <a class="link" href="#smime-sign-as" title="3.346. smime_sign_as">$smime_sign_as</a> is set.
</p><p>
The (now deprecated) <span class="emphasis"><em>smime_self_encrypt_as</em></span> is an alias for this
variable, and should no longer be used.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-encrypt-command"></a>3.336. smime_encrypt_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to create encrypted S/MIME messages.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-encrypt-with"></a>3.337. smime_encrypt_with</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">aes256</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This sets the algorithm that should be used for encryption.
Valid choices are <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">aes128</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">aes192</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">aes256</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">des</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">des3</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">rc2-40</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">rc2-64</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">rc2-128</span>”</span>.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-get-cert-command"></a>3.338. smime_get_cert_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to extract X509 certificates from a PKCS7 structure.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-get-cert-email-command"></a>3.339. smime_get_cert_email_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to extract the mail address(es) used for storing
X509 certificates, and for verification purposes (to check whether the
certificate was issued for the sender's mailbox).
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-get-signer-cert-command"></a>3.340. smime_get_signer_cert_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to extract only the signers X509 certificate from a S/MIME
signature, so that the certificate's owner may get compared to the
email's <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From:</span>”</span> field.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-import-cert-command"></a>3.341. smime_import_cert_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to import a certificate via smime_keys.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-is-default"></a>3.342. smime_is_default</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
The default behavior of mutt is to use PGP on all auto-sign/encryption
operations. To override and to use OpenSSL instead this must be <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
However, this has no effect while replying, since mutt will automatically
select the same application that was used to sign/encrypt the original
message.  (Note that this variable can be overridden by unsetting <a class="link" href="#crypt-autosmime" title="3.59. crypt_autosmime">$crypt_autosmime</a>.)
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-keys"></a>3.343. smime_keys</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Since for S/MIME there is no pubring/secring as with PGP, mutt has to handle
storage and retrieval of keys/certs by itself. This is very basic right now,
and stores keys and certificates in two different directories, both
named as the hash-value retrieved from OpenSSL. There is an index file
which contains mailbox-address keyid pair, and which can be manually
edited. This option points to the location of the private keys.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-pk7out-command"></a>3.344. smime_pk7out_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to extract PKCS7 structures of S/MIME signatures,
in order to extract the public X509 certificate(s).
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-self-encrypt"></a>3.345. smime_self_encrypt</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, S/MIME encrypted messages will also be encrypted
using the certificate in <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a>.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-sign-as"></a>3.346. smime_sign_as</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
If you have a separate key to use for signing, you should set this
to the signing key. Most people will only need to set <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a>.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-sign-command"></a>3.347. smime_sign_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to created S/MIME signatures of type
<code class="literal">multipart/signed</code>, which can be read by all mail clients.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.  NOTE: %c and %k will default
to <a class="link" href="#smime-sign-as" title="3.346. smime_sign_as">$smime_sign_as</a> if set, otherwise <a class="link" href="#smime-default-key" title="3.335. smime_default_key">$smime_default_key</a>.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-sign-digest-alg"></a>3.348. smime_sign_digest_alg</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">sha256</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This sets the algorithm that should be used for the signature message digest.
Valid choices are <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">md5</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sha1</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sha224</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sha256</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sha384</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">sha512</span>”</span>.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-sign-opaque-command"></a>3.349. smime_sign_opaque_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to created S/MIME signatures of type
<code class="literal">application/x-pkcs7-signature</code>, which can only be handled by mail
clients supporting the S/MIME extension.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-timeout"></a>3.350. smime_timeout</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number (long)<br />
Default: 300</p></div><p>
The number of seconds after which a cached passphrase will expire if
not used.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-verify-command"></a>3.351. smime_verify_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to verify S/MIME signatures of type <code class="literal">multipart/signed</code>.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-verify-opaque-command"></a>3.352. smime_verify_opaque_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This command is used to verify S/MIME signatures of type
<code class="literal">application/x-pkcs7-mime</code>.
</p><p>
This is a format string, see the <a class="link" href="#smime-decrypt-command" title="3.333. smime_decrypt_command">$smime_decrypt_command</a> command for
possible <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences.
(S/MIME only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smtp-authenticators"></a>3.353. smtp_authenticators</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This is a colon-delimited list of authentication methods mutt may
attempt to use to log in to an SMTP server, in the order mutt should
try them.  Authentication methods are any SASL mechanism, e.g.
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">digest-md5</span>”</span>, <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">gssapi</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">cram-md5</span>”</span>.
This option is case-insensitive. If it is <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">unset</span>”</span>
(the default) mutt will try all available methods, in order from
most-secure to least-secure.
</p><p>
Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set smtp_authenticators="digest-md5:cram-md5"
</pre></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smtp-oauth-refresh-command"></a>3.354. smtp_oauth_refresh_command</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The command to run to generate an OAUTH refresh token for
authorizing your connection to your SMTP server.  This command will be
run on every connection attempt that uses the OAUTHBEARER authentication
mechanism.  See <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#oauth" title="6. OAUTHBEARER Support">oauth</a></span>”</span> for details.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smtp-pass"></a>3.355. smtp_pass</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Specifies the password for your SMTP account.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will
prompt you for your password when you first send mail via SMTP.
See <a class="link" href="#smtp-url" title="3.356. smtp_url">$smtp_url</a> to configure mutt to send mail via SMTP.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Warning</strong></span>: you should only use this option when you are on a
fairly secure machine, because the superuser can read your muttrc even
if you are the only one who can read the file.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smtp-url"></a>3.356. smtp_url</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Defines the SMTP smarthost where sent messages should relayed for
delivery. This should take the form of an SMTP URL, e.g.:

</p><pre class="screen">
smtp[s]://[user[:pass]@]host[:port]
</pre><p>
where <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">[...]</span>”</span> denotes an optional part.
Setting this variable overrides the value of the <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a>
variable.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#write-bcc" title="3.417. write_bcc">$write_bcc</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sort"></a>3.357. sort</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: sort order<br />
Default: date</p></div><p>
Specifies how to sort messages in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">index</span>”</span> menu.  Valid values
are:

</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>date or date-sent
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>date-received
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>from
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>mailbox-order (unsorted)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>score
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>size
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>spam
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>subject
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>threads
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>to
</p></li></ul></div><p>
You may optionally use the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span> prefix to specify reverse sorting
order (example: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">set sort=reverse-date-sent</code></span>”</span>).
</p><p>
For values except <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">threads</span>”</span>, this provides the primary sort
method.  When two message sort values are equal, <a class="link" href="#sort-aux" title="3.359. sort_aux">$sort_aux</a> will
be used for a secondary sort.
</p><p>
When set to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">threads</span>”</span>, Mutt threads messages in the index. It
uses the variable <a class="link" href="#sort-thread-groups" title="3.363. sort_thread_groups">$sort_thread_groups</a> to sort between threads
(at the top/root level), and <a class="link" href="#sort-aux" title="3.359. sort_aux">$sort_aux</a> to sort sub-threads and
children.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sort-alias"></a>3.358. sort_alias</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: sort order<br />
Default: alias</p></div><p>
Specifies how the entries in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">alias</span>”</span> menu are sorted.  The
following are legal values:

</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>address (sort alphabetically by email address)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>alias (sort alphabetically by alias name)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>unsorted (leave in order specified in .muttrc)
</p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sort-aux"></a>3.359. sort_aux</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: sort order<br />
Default: date</p></div><p>
For non-threaded mode, this provides a secondary sort for
messages in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">index</span>”</span> menu, used when the <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">$sort</a> value is
equal for two messages.
</p><p>
When sorting by threads, this variable controls how the branches
of the thread trees are sorted.  This can be set to any value
that <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">$sort</a> can, except <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">threads</span>”</span> (in that case, mutt will just
use <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">date-sent</span>”</span>).  You can also specify the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">last-</span>”</span> prefix in
addition to the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span> prefix, but <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">last-</span>”</span> must come
after <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span>.  The <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">last-</span>”</span> prefix causes messages to be
sorted against its siblings by which has the last descendant,
using the rest of <a class="link" href="#sort-aux" title="3.359. sort_aux">$sort_aux</a> as an ordering.  For instance,

</p><pre class="screen">
set sort_aux=last-date-received
</pre><p>
would mean that if a new message is received in a sub-thread,
that sub-thread becomes the last one displayed.
</p><p>
Note: For reversed-threads <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">$sort</a>
order, <a class="link" href="#sort-aux" title="3.359. sort_aux">$sort_aux</a> is reversed again (which is not the right thing to do,
but kept to not break any existing configuration setting).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sort-browser"></a>3.360. sort_browser</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: sort order<br />
Default: alpha</p></div><p>
Specifies how to sort entries in the file browser.  By default, the
entries are sorted alphabetically.  Valid values:

</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>alpha (alphabetically)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>count
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>date
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>size
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>unread
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>unsorted
</p></li></ul></div><p>
You may optionally use the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span> prefix to specify reverse sorting
order (example: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">set sort_browser=reverse-date</code></span>”</span>).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sort-browser-mailboxes"></a>3.361. sort_browser_mailboxes</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: sort order<br />
Default: unsorted</p></div><p>
Specifies how to sort entries in the mailbox browser.  By default, the
entries are unsorted, displayed in the same order as listed
in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">mailboxes</span>”</span> command.  Valid values:

</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>alpha (alphabetically)
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>count
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>date
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>size
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>unread
</p></li><li class="listitem"><p>unsorted
</p></li></ul></div><p>
You may optionally use the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span> prefix to specify reverse sorting
order (example: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">set sort_browser_mailboxes=reverse-alpha</code></span>”</span>).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sort-re"></a>3.362. sort_re</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
This variable is only useful when sorting by threads with
<a class="link" href="#strict-threads" title="3.386. strict_threads">$strict_threads</a> <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>.  In that case, it changes the heuristic
mutt uses to thread messages by subject.  With <a class="link" href="#sort-re" title="3.362. sort_re">$sort_re</a> <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will
only attach a message as the child of another message by subject if
the subject of the child message starts with a substring matching the
setting of <a class="link" href="#reply-regexp" title="3.281. reply_regexp">$reply_regexp</a>.  With <a class="link" href="#sort-re" title="3.362. sort_re">$sort_re</a> <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, mutt will attach
the message whether or not this is the case, as long as the
non-<a class="link" href="#reply-regexp" title="3.281. reply_regexp">$reply_regexp</a> parts of both messages are identical.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="sort-thread-groups"></a>3.363. sort_thread_groups</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: sort order<br />
Default: aux</p></div><p>
When sorting by threads, this variable controls how threads are
sorted in relation to other threads (at the top/root level).
This can be set to any value that <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">$sort</a> can, except <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">threads</span>”</span>.
You can also specify the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">last-</span>”</span> prefix in addition to the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span> prefix, but <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">last-</span>”</span> must come after <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span>.
The <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">last-</span>”</span> prefix causes messages to be sorted against its
siblings by which has the last descendant, using the rest of
<a class="link" href="#sort-thread-groups" title="3.363. sort_thread_groups">$sort_thread_groups</a> as an ordering.
</p><p>
For backward compatibility, the default value is <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">aux</span>”</span>, which
means to use <a class="link" href="#sort-aux" title="3.359. sort_aux">$sort_aux</a> for top-level thread sorting too.  The
value <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">aux</span>”</span> does not respect <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">last-</span>”</span> or <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">reverse-</span>”</span>
prefixes, it simply delegates sorting directly to <a class="link" href="#sort-aux" title="3.359. sort_aux">$sort_aux</a>.
</p><p>
Note: For reversed-threads <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">$sort</a> order, <a class="link" href="#sort-thread-groups" title="3.363. sort_thread_groups">$sort_thread_groups</a> is
reversed again (which is not the right thing to do, but kept to
not break any existing configuration setting).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="spam-separator"></a>3.364. spam_separator</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">,</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
This variable controls what happens when multiple spam headers
are matched: if <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, each successive header will overwrite any
previous matches value for the spam label. If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, each successive
match will append to the previous, using this variable's value as a
separator.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="spoolfile"></a>3.365. spoolfile</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
If your spool mailbox is in a non-default place where Mutt cannot find
it, you can specify its location with this variable.  Mutt will
initially set this variable to the value of the environment
variable <code class="literal">$MAIL</code> or <code class="literal">$MAILDIR</code> if either is defined.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-ca-certificates-file"></a>3.366. ssl_ca_certificates_file</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable specifies a file containing trusted CA certificates.
Any server certificate that is signed with one of these CA
certificates is also automatically accepted. (GnuTLS only)
</p><p>
Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set ssl_ca_certificates_file=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
</pre></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-client-cert"></a>3.367. ssl_client_cert</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
The file containing a client certificate and its associated private
key.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-force-tls"></a>3.368. ssl_force_tls</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If this variable is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will require that all connections
to remote servers be encrypted. Furthermore it will attempt to
negotiate TLS even if the server does not advertise the capability,
since it would otherwise have to abort the connection anyway. This
option supersedes <a class="link" href="#ssl-starttls" title="3.370. ssl_starttls">$ssl_starttls</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-min-dh-prime-bits"></a>3.369. ssl_min_dh_prime_bits</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
This variable specifies the minimum acceptable prime size (in bits)
for use in any Diffie-Hellman key exchange. A value of 0 will use
the default from the GNUTLS library. (GnuTLS only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-starttls"></a>3.370. ssl_starttls</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: quadoption<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> (the default), mutt will attempt to use <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code> on servers
advertising the capability. When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, mutt will not attempt to
use <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code> regardless of the server's capabilities.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note</strong></span> that <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code> is subject to many kinds of
attacks, including the ability of a machine-in-the-middle to
suppress the advertising of support.  Setting <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">$ssl_force_tls</a> is
recommended if you rely on <code class="literal">STARTTLS</code>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-use-sslv2"></a>3.371. ssl_use_sslv2</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> , Mutt will use SSLv2 when communicating with servers that
request it. <span class="bold"><strong>N.B. As of 2011, SSLv2 is considered insecure, and using
is inadvisable. See https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6176 .</strong></span>
(OpenSSL only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-use-sslv3"></a>3.372. ssl_use_sslv3</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> , Mutt will use SSLv3 when communicating with servers that
request it. <span class="bold"><strong>N.B. As of 2015, SSLv3 is considered insecure, and using
it is inadvisable. See https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7525 .</strong></span>
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-use-tlsv1"></a>3.373. ssl_use_tlsv1</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> , Mutt will use TLSv1.0 when communicating with servers that
request it. <span class="bold"><strong>N.B. As of 2015, TLSv1.0 is considered insecure, and using
it is inadvisable. See https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7525 .</strong></span>
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-use-tlsv1-1"></a>3.374. ssl_use_tlsv1_1</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> , Mutt will use TLSv1.1 when communicating with servers that
request it. <span class="bold"><strong>N.B. As of 2015, TLSv1.1 is considered insecure, and using
it is inadvisable. See https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7525 .</strong></span>
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-use-tlsv1-2"></a>3.375. ssl_use_tlsv1_2</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> , Mutt will use TLSv1.2 when communicating with servers that
request it.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-use-tlsv1-3"></a>3.376. ssl_use_tlsv1_3</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> , Mutt will use TLSv1.3 when communicating with servers that
request it.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-usesystemcerts"></a>3.377. ssl_usesystemcerts</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If set to <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span>, mutt will use CA certificates in the
system-wide certificate store when checking if a server certificate
is signed by a trusted CA. (OpenSSL only)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-verify-dates"></a>3.378. ssl_verify_dates</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> (the default), mutt will not automatically accept a server
certificate that is either not yet valid or already expired. You should
only unset this for particular known hosts, using the
<code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#account-hook" title="7. Managing Multiple Accounts">&lt;account-hook&gt;</a></code> function.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-verify-host"></a>3.379. ssl_verify_host</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span> (the default), mutt will not automatically accept a server
certificate whose host name does not match the host used in your folder
URL. You should only unset this for particular known hosts, using
the <code class="literal"><a class="link" href="#account-hook" title="7. Managing Multiple Accounts">&lt;account-hook&gt;</a></code> function.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-verify-host-override"></a>3.380. ssl_verify_host_override</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Defines an alternate host name to verify the server certificate against.
This should not be set unless you are sure what you are doing, but it
might be useful for connection to a .onion host without a properly
configured host name in the certificate.  See <a class="link" href="#ssl-verify-host" title="3.379. ssl_verify_host">$ssl_verify_host</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-verify-partial-chains"></a>3.381. ssl_verify_partial_chains</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
This option should not be changed from the default unless you understand
what you are doing.
</p><p>
Setting this variable to <span class="emphasis"><em>yes</em></span> will permit verifying partial
certification chains, i. e. a certificate chain where not the root,
but an intermediate certificate CA, or the host certificate, are
marked trusted (in <a class="link" href="#certificate-file" title="3.39. certificate_file">$certificate_file</a>), without marking the root
signing CA as trusted.
</p><p>
(OpenSSL 1.0.2b and newer only).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ssl-ciphers"></a>3.382. ssl_ciphers</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Contains a colon-separated list of ciphers to use when using SSL.
For OpenSSL, see ciphers(1) for the syntax of the string.
</p><p>
For GnuTLS, this option will be used in place of "NORMAL" at the
start of the priority string.  See gnutls_priority_init(3) for the
syntax and more details. (Note: GnuTLS version 2.1.7 or higher is
required.)
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="status-chars"></a>3.383. status_chars</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">-*%A</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Controls the characters used by the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%r</span>”</span> indicator in
<a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a>. The first character is used when the mailbox is
unchanged. The second is used when the mailbox has been changed, and
it needs to be resynchronized. The third is used if the mailbox is in
read-only mode, or if the mailbox will not be written when exiting
that mailbox (You can toggle whether to write changes to a mailbox
with the <code class="literal">&lt;toggle-write&gt;</code> operation, bound by default to <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">%</span>”</span>). The fourth
is used to indicate that the current folder has been opened in attach-
message mode (Certain operations like composing a new mail, replying,
forwarding, etc. are not permitted in this mode).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="status-format"></a>3.384. status_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string (localized)<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">-%r-Mutt: %f [Msgs:%?M?%M/?%m%?n? New:%n?%?o? Old:%o?%?d? Del:%d?%?F? Flag:%F?%?t? Tag:%t?%?p? Post:%p?%?b? Inc:%b?%?B? Back:%B?%?l? %l?]---(%s/%?T?%T/?%S)-%&gt;-(%P)---</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Controls the format of the status line displayed in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">index</span>”</span>
menu.  This string is similar to <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a>, but has its own
set of <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequences:

</p><div class="informaltable"><table class="informaltable" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>%b  </td><td>number of mailboxes with new mail *
</td></tr><tr><td>%B  </td><td>number of backgrounded editing sessions *
</td></tr><tr><td>%d  </td><td>number of deleted messages *
</td></tr><tr><td>%f  </td><td>the full pathname of the current mailbox
</td></tr><tr><td>%F  </td><td>number of flagged messages *
</td></tr><tr><td>%h  </td><td>local hostname
</td></tr><tr><td>%l  </td><td>size (in bytes) of the current mailbox (see <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>) *
</td></tr><tr><td>%L  </td><td>size (in bytes) of the messages shown
(i.e., which match the current limit) (see <a class="link" href="#formatstrings-size" title="32.5. Bytes size display">formatstrings-size</a>) *
</td></tr><tr><td>%m  </td><td>the number of messages in the mailbox *
</td></tr><tr><td>%M  </td><td>the number of messages shown (i.e., which match the current limit) *
</td></tr><tr><td>%n  </td><td>number of new messages in the mailbox *
</td></tr><tr><td>%o  </td><td>number of old unread messages *
</td></tr><tr><td>%p  </td><td>number of postponed messages *
</td></tr><tr><td>%P  </td><td>percentage of the way through the index
</td></tr><tr><td>%r  </td><td>modified/read-only/won't-write/attach-message indicator,
according to <a class="link" href="#status-chars" title="3.383. status_chars">$status_chars</a>
</td></tr><tr><td>%R  </td><td>number of read messages *
</td></tr><tr><td>%s  </td><td>current sorting mode (<a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">$sort</a>)
</td></tr><tr><td>%S  </td><td>current aux sorting method (<a class="link" href="#sort-aux" title="3.359. sort_aux">$sort_aux</a>)
</td></tr><tr><td>%t  </td><td>number of tagged messages *
</td></tr><tr><td>%T  </td><td>current thread group sorting method (<a class="link" href="#sort-thread-groups" title="3.363. sort_thread_groups">$sort_thread_groups</a>) *
</td></tr><tr><td>%u  </td><td>number of unread messages *
</td></tr><tr><td>%v  </td><td>Mutt version string
</td></tr><tr><td>%V  </td><td>currently active limit pattern, if any *
</td></tr><tr><td>%&gt;X </td><td>right justify the rest of the string and pad with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%|X </td><td>pad to the end of the line with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span>
</td></tr><tr><td>%*X </td><td>soft-fill with character <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">X</span>”</span> as pad
</td></tr></tbody></table></div><p>
For an explanation of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">soft-fill</span>”</span>, see the <a class="link" href="#index-format" title="3.159. index_format">$index_format</a> documentation.
</p><p>
* = can be optionally printed if nonzero
</p><p>
Some of the above sequences can be used to optionally print a string
if their value is nonzero.  For example, you may only want to see the
number of flagged messages if such messages exist, since zero is not
particularly meaningful.  To optionally print a string based upon one
of the above sequences, the following construct is used:
</p><p>
<code class="literal">%?&lt;sequence_char&gt;?&lt;optional_string&gt;?</code>
</p><p>
where <span class="emphasis"><em>sequence_char</em></span> is a character from the table above, and
<span class="emphasis"><em>optional_string</em></span> is the string you would like printed if
<span class="emphasis"><em>sequence_char</em></span> is nonzero.  <span class="emphasis"><em>optional_string</em></span> <span class="bold"><strong>may</strong></span> contain
other sequences as well as normal text, but you may <span class="bold"><strong>not</strong></span> nest
optional strings.
</p><p>
Here is an example illustrating how to optionally print the number of
new messages in a mailbox:
</p><p>
<code class="literal">%?n?%n new messages.?</code>
</p><p>
You can also switch between two strings using the following construct:
</p><p>
<code class="literal">%?&lt;sequence_char&gt;?&lt;if_string&gt;&amp;&lt;else_string&gt;?</code>
</p><p>
If the value of <span class="emphasis"><em>sequence_char</em></span> is non-zero, <span class="emphasis"><em>if_string</em></span> will
be expanded, otherwise <span class="emphasis"><em>else_string</em></span> will be expanded.
</p><p>
You can force the result of any <code class="literal">printf(3)</code>-like sequence to be lowercase
by prefixing the sequence character with an underscore (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">_</span>”</span>) sign.
For example, if you want to display the local hostname in lowercase,
you would use: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">%_h</code></span>”</span>.
</p><p>
If you prefix the sequence character with a colon (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">:</span>”</span>) character, mutt
will replace any dots in the expansion by underscores. This might be helpful
with IMAP folders that don't like dots in folder names.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="status-on-top"></a>3.385. status_on_top</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Setting this variable causes the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">status bar</span>”</span> to be displayed on
the first line of the screen rather than near the bottom. If <a class="link" href="#help" title="3.117. help">$help</a>
is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, too it'll be placed at the bottom.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="strict-threads"></a>3.386. strict_threads</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, threading will only make use of the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">In-Reply-To</span>”</span> and
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">References:</span>”</span> fields when you <a class="link" href="#sort" title="3.357. sort">$sort</a> by message threads.  By
default, messages with the same subject are grouped together in
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">pseudo threads.</span>”</span>. This may not always be desirable, such as in a
personal mailbox where you might have several unrelated messages with
the subjects like <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">hi</span>”</span> which will get grouped together. See also
<a class="link" href="#sort-re" title="3.362. sort_re">$sort_re</a> for a less drastic way of controlling this
behavior.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="suspend"></a>3.387. suspend</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, mutt won't stop when the user presses the terminal's
<span class="emphasis"><em>susp</em></span> key, usually <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">^Z</span>”</span>. This is useful if you run mutt
inside an xterm using a command like <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">xterm -e mutt</code></span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="text-flowed"></a>3.388. text_flowed</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will generate <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">format=flowed</span>”</span> bodies with a content type
of <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">text/plain; format=flowed</code></span>”</span>.
This format is easier to handle for some mailing software, and generally
just looks like ordinary text.  To actually make use of this format's
features, you'll need support in your editor.
</p><p>
The option only controls newly composed messages.  Postponed messages,
resent messages, and draft messages (via -H on the command line) will
use the content-type of the source message.
</p><p>
Note that <a class="link" href="#indent-string" title="3.158. indent_string">$indent_string</a> is ignored when this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="thorough-search"></a>3.389. thorough_search</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Affects the <code class="literal">~b</code>, <code class="literal">~B</code>, and <code class="literal">~h</code> search operations described in
section <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#patterns" title="3. Patterns: Searching, Limiting and Tagging">patterns</a></span>”</span>.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the headers and body/attachments of
messages to be searched are decoded before searching. If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>,
messages are searched as they appear in the folder.
</p><p>
Users searching attachments or for non-ASCII characters should <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>
this value because decoding also includes MIME parsing/decoding and possible
character set conversions. Otherwise mutt will attempt to match against the
raw message received (for example quoted-printable encoded or with encoded
headers) which may lead to incorrect search results.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="thread-received"></a>3.390. thread_received</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt uses the date received rather than the date sent
to thread messages by subject.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="tilde"></a>3.391. tilde</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, the internal-pager will pad blank lines to the bottom of the
screen with a tilde (<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">~</span>”</span>).
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="time-inc"></a>3.392. time_inc</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
Along with <a class="link" href="#read-inc" title="3.273. read_inc">$read_inc</a>, <a class="link" href="#write-inc" title="3.418. write_inc">$write_inc</a>, and <a class="link" href="#net-inc" title="3.201. net_inc">$net_inc</a>, this
variable controls the frequency with which progress updates are
displayed. It suppresses updates less than <a class="link" href="#time-inc" title="3.392. time_inc">$time_inc</a> milliseconds
apart. This can improve throughput on systems with slow terminals,
or when running mutt on a remote system.
</p><p>
Also see the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#tuning" title="Chapter 8. Performance Tuning">tuning</a></span>”</span> section of the manual for performance considerations.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="timeout"></a>3.393. timeout</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 600</p></div><p>
When Mutt is waiting for user input either idling in menus or
in an interactive prompt, Mutt would block until input is
present. Depending on the context, this would prevent certain
operations from working, like checking for new mail or keeping
an IMAP connection alive.
</p><p>
This variable controls how many seconds Mutt will at most wait
until it aborts waiting for input, performs these operations and
continues to wait for input.
</p><p>
A value of zero or less will cause Mutt to never time out.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="tmpdir"></a>3.394. tmpdir</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
This variable allows you to specify where Mutt will place its
temporary files needed for displaying and composing messages.  If
this variable is not set, the environment variable <code class="literal">$TMPDIR</code> is
used.  If <code class="literal">$TMPDIR</code> is not set then <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">/tmp</code></span>”</span> is used.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="to-chars"></a>3.395. to_chars</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal"> +TCFL</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Controls the character used to indicate mail addressed to you.  The
first character is the one used when the mail is <span class="emphasis"><em>not</em></span> addressed to your
address.  The second is used when you are the only
recipient of the message.  The third is when your address
appears in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">To:</span>”</span> header field, but you are not the only recipient of
the message.  The fourth character is used when your
address is specified in the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Cc:</span>”</span> header field, but you are not the only
recipient.  The fifth character is used to indicate mail that was sent
by <span class="emphasis"><em>you</em></span>.  The sixth character is used to indicate when a mail
was sent to a mailing-list you subscribe to.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="trash"></a>3.396. trash</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
If set, this variable specifies the path of the trash folder where the
mails marked for deletion will be moved, instead of being irremediably
purged.
</p><p>
NOTE: When you delete a message in the trash folder, it is really
deleted, so that you have a way to clean the trash.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ts-icon-format"></a>3.397. ts_icon_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string (localized)<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">M%?n?AIL&amp;ail?</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Controls the format of the icon title, as long as <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#ts-enabled" title="3.398. ts_enabled">$ts_enabled</a></span>”</span> is set.
This string is identical in formatting to the one used by
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a></span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ts-enabled"></a>3.398. ts_enabled</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls whether mutt tries to set the terminal status line and icon name.
Most terminal emulators emulate the status line in the window title.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="ts-status-format"></a>3.399. ts_status_format</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string (localized)<br />
Default: <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">Mutt with %?m?%m messages&amp;no messages?%?n? [%n NEW]?</code></span>”</span></p></div><p>
Controls the format of the terminal status line (or window title),
provided that <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#ts-enabled" title="3.398. ts_enabled">$ts_enabled</a></span>”</span> has been set. This string is identical in
formatting to the one used by <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#status-format" title="3.384. status_format">$status_format</a></span>”</span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="tunnel"></a>3.400. tunnel</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: string<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Setting this variable will cause mutt to open a pipe to a command
instead of a raw socket. You may be able to use this to set up
preauthenticated connections to your IMAP/POP3/SMTP server. Example:

</p><pre class="screen">
set tunnel="ssh -q mailhost.net /usr/local/libexec/imapd"
</pre><p>
Note: For this example to work you must be able to log in to the remote
machine without having to enter a password.
</p><p>
When set, Mutt uses the tunnel for all remote connections.
Please see <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#account-hook" title="7. Managing Multiple Accounts">account-hook</a></span>”</span> in the manual for how to use different
tunnel commands per connection.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="tunnel-is-secure"></a>3.401. tunnel_is_secure</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will assume the <a class="link" href="#tunnel" title="3.400. tunnel">$tunnel</a> connection does not need
STARTTLS to be enabled.  It will also allow IMAP PREAUTH server
responses inside a <a class="link" href="#tunnel" title="3.400. tunnel">tunnel</a> to proceed.  This is appropriate if <a class="link" href="#tunnel" title="3.400. tunnel">$tunnel</a>
uses ssh or directly invokes the server locally.
</p><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will negotiate STARTTLS according to the
<a class="link" href="#ssl-starttls" title="3.370. ssl_starttls">ssl_starttls</a> and <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">ssl_force_tls</a> variables.  If <a class="link" href="#ssl-force-tls" title="3.368. ssl_force_tls">ssl_force_tls</a> is
set, Mutt will abort connecting if an IMAP server responds with PREAUTH.
This setting is appropriate if <a class="link" href="#tunnel" title="3.400. tunnel">$tunnel</a> does not provide security and
could be tampered with by attackers.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="uncollapse-jump"></a>3.402. uncollapse_jump</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will jump to the next unread message, if any,
when the current thread is <span class="emphasis"><em>un</em></span>collapsed.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="uncollapse-new"></a>3.403. uncollapse_new</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will automatically uncollapse any collapsed
thread that receives a newly delivered message.  When
<span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, collapsed threads will remain collapsed. The
presence of the newly delivered message will still affect index
sorting, though.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="use-8bitmime"></a>3.404. use_8bitmime</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Warning:</strong></span> do not set this variable unless you are using a version
of sendmail which supports the <code class="literal">-B8BITMIME</code> flag (such as sendmail
8.8.x) or you may not be able to send mail.
</p><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will invoke <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a> with the <code class="literal">-B8BITMIME</code>
flag when sending 8-bit messages to enable ESMTP negotiation.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="use-domain"></a>3.405. use_domain</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will qualify all local addresses (ones without the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">@host</span>”</span> portion) with the value of <a class="link" href="#hostname" title="3.129. hostname">$hostname</a>.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, no
addresses will be qualified.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="use-envelope-from"></a>3.406. use_envelope_from</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will set the <span class="emphasis"><em>envelope</em></span> sender of the message.
If <a class="link" href="#envelope-from-address" title="3.88. envelope_from_address">$envelope_from_address</a> is <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, it will be used as the sender
address. If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, mutt will attempt to derive the sender from the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From:</span>”</span> header.
</p><p>
Note that this information is passed to sendmail command using the
<code class="literal">-f</code> command line switch. Therefore setting this option is not useful
if the <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a> variable already contains <code class="literal">-f</code> or if the
executable pointed to by <a class="link" href="#sendmail" title="3.303. sendmail">$sendmail</a> doesn't support the <code class="literal">-f</code> switch.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="use-from"></a>3.407. use_from</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will generate the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From:</span>”</span> header field when
sending messages.  If <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, no <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">From:</span>”</span> header field will be
generated unless the user explicitly sets one using the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#my-hdr" title="17. User-Defined Headers">my_hdr</a></span>”</span>
command.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="use-ipv6"></a>3.408. use_ipv6</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will look for IPv6 addresses of hosts it tries to
contact.  If this option is <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will restrict itself to IPv4 addresses.
Normally, the default should work.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="user-agent"></a>3.409. user_agent</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will add a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">User-Agent:</span>”</span> header to outgoing
messages, indicating which version of mutt was used for composing
them.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="visual"></a>3.410. visual</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: path<br />
Default: (empty)</p></div><p>
Specifies the visual editor to invoke when the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><code class="literal">~v</code></span>”</span> command is
given in the built-in editor.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="wait-key"></a>3.411. wait_key</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether Mutt will ask you to press a key after an external command
has been invoked by these functions: <code class="literal">&lt;shell-escape&gt;</code>,
<code class="literal">&lt;pipe-message&gt;</code>, <code class="literal">&lt;pipe-entry&gt;</code>, <code class="literal">&lt;print-message&gt;</code>,
and <code class="literal">&lt;print-entry&gt;</code> commands.
</p><p>
It is also used when viewing attachments with <span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#auto-view" title="4. MIME Autoview">auto_view</a></span>”</span>, provided
that the corresponding mailcap entry has a <span class="emphasis"><em>needsterminal</em></span> flag,
and the external program is interactive.
</p><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, Mutt will always ask for a key. When <span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, Mutt will wait
for a key only if the external command returned a non-zero status.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="weed"></a>3.412. weed</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, mutt will weed headers when displaying, forwarding,
or replying to messages.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#copy-decode-weed" title="3.53. copy_decode_weed">$copy_decode_weed</a>, <a class="link" href="#pipe-decode-weed" title="3.244. pipe_decode_weed">$pipe_decode_weed</a>, <a class="link" href="#print-decode-weed" title="3.266. print_decode_weed">$print_decode_weed</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="wrap"></a>3.413. wrap</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
When set to a positive value, mutt will wrap text at <a class="link" href="#wrap" title="3.413. wrap">$wrap</a> characters.
When set to a negative value, mutt will wrap text so that there are <a class="link" href="#wrap" title="3.413. wrap">$wrap</a>
characters of empty space on the right side of the terminal. Setting it
to zero makes mutt wrap at the terminal width.
</p><p>
Also see <a class="link" href="#reflow-wrap" title="3.280. reflow_wrap">$reflow_wrap</a>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="wrap-headers"></a>3.414. wrap_headers</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 78</p></div><p>
This option specifies the number of characters to use for wrapping
an outgoing message's headers. Allowed values are between 78 and 998
inclusive.
</p><p>
<span class="bold"><strong>Note:</strong></span> This option usually shouldn't be changed. RFC5233
recommends a line length of 78 (the default), so <span class="bold"><strong>please only change
this setting when you know what you're doing</strong></span>.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="wrap-search"></a>3.415. wrap_search</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: yes</p></div><p>
Controls whether searches wrap around the end.
</p><p>
When <span class="emphasis"><em>set</em></span>, searches will wrap around the first (or last) item. When
<span class="emphasis"><em>unset</em></span>, incremental searches will not wrap.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="wrapmargin"></a>3.416. wrapmargin</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 0</p></div><p>
(DEPRECATED) Equivalent to setting <a class="link" href="#wrap" title="3.413. wrap">$wrap</a> with a negative value.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="write-bcc"></a>3.417. write_bcc</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: boolean<br />
Default: no</p></div><p>
Controls whether mutt writes out the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Bcc:</span>”</span> header when
preparing messages to be sent.  Some MTAs, such as Exim and
Courier, do not strip the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Bcc:</span>”</span> header; so it is advisable to
leave this unset unless you have a particular need for the header
to be in the sent message.
</p><p>
If mutt is set to deliver directly via SMTP (see <a class="link" href="#smtp-url" title="3.356. smtp_url">$smtp_url</a>),
this option does nothing: mutt will never write out the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Bcc:</span>”</span>
header in this case.
</p><p>
Note this option only affects the sending of messages.  Fcc'ed
copies of a message will always contain the <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Bcc:</span>”</span> header if
one exists.
</p></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="write-inc"></a>3.418. write_inc</h3></div></div></div><div class="literallayout"><p>Type: number<br />
Default: 10</p></div><p>
When writing a mailbox, a message will be printed every
<a class="link" href="#write-inc" title="3.418. write_inc">$write_inc</a> messages to indicate progress.  If set to 0, only a
single message will be displayed before writing a mailbox.
</p><p>
Also see the <a class="link" href="#read-inc" title="3.273. read_inc">$read_inc</a>, <a class="link" href="#net-inc" title="3.201. net_inc">$net_inc</a> and <a class="link" href="#time-inc" title="3.392. time_inc">$time_inc</a> variables and the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote"><a class="link" href="#tuning" title="Chapter 8. Performance Tuning">tuning</a></span>”</span> section of the manual for performance considerations.
</p></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="functions"></a>4. Functions</h2></div></div></div><p>
The following is the list of available functions listed by the mapping
in which they are available.  The default key setting is given, and an
explanation of what the function does.  The key bindings of these
functions can be changed with the <a class="link" href="#bind" title="6. Changing the Default Key Bindings">bind</a>
command.
</p><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="generic-map"></a>4.1. Generic Menu</h3></div></div></div><p>
The <span class="emphasis"><em>generic</em></span> menu is not a real menu, but specifies common functions
(such as movement) available in all menus except for <span class="emphasis"><em>pager</em></span> and
<span class="emphasis"><em>editor</em></span>.  Changing settings for this menu will affect the default
bindings for all menus (except as noted).
</p><div class="table"><a id="tab-generic-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.2. Default Generic Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Generic Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;bottom-page&gt;</code></td><td>L</td><td>move to the bottom of the page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;check-stats&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>calculate message statistics for all mailboxes</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;current-bottom&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move entry to bottom of screen</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;current-middle&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move entry to middle of screen</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;current-top&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move entry to top of screen</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;end-cond&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>end of conditional execution (noop)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;enter-command&gt;</code></td><td>:</td><td>enter a muttrc command</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;error-history&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>display recent history of error messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;exit&gt;</code></td><td>q</td><td>exit this menu</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;first-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Home&gt;</td><td>move to the first entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;first-entry&gt;</code></td><td>=</td><td>move to the first entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;half-down&gt;</code></td><td>]</td><td>scroll down 1/2 page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;half-up&gt;</code></td><td>[</td><td>scroll up 1/2 page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;help&gt;</code></td><td>?</td><td>this screen</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>1</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>2</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>3</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>4</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>5</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>6</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>7</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>8</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>9</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;last-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;End&gt;</td><td>move to the last entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;last-entry&gt;</code></td><td>*</td><td>move to the last entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;middle-page&gt;</code></td><td>M</td><td>move to the middle of the page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Down&gt;</td><td>move to the next entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-entry&gt;</code></td><td>j</td><td>move to the next entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-line&gt;</code></td><td>&gt;</td><td>scroll down one line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-page&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Pagedown&gt;</td><td>move to the next page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-page&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Right&gt;</td><td>move to the next page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-page&gt;</code></td><td>z</td><td>move to the next page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Up&gt;</td><td>move to the previous entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-entry&gt;</code></td><td>k</td><td>move to the previous entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-line&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;</td><td>scroll up one line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-page&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Left&gt;</td><td>move to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-page&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Pageup&gt;</td><td>move to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-page&gt;</code></td><td>Z</td><td>move to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;refresh&gt;</code></td><td>^L</td><td>clear and redraw the screen</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search&gt;</code></td><td>/</td><td>search for a regular expression</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search-next&gt;</code></td><td>n</td><td>search for next match</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search-opposite&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>search for next match in opposite direction</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search-reverse&gt;</code></td><td>Esc /</td><td>search backwards for a regular expression</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;select-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Enter&gt;</td><td>select the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;select-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Keypadenter&gt;</td><td>select the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;select-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>select the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;shell-escape&gt;</code></td><td>!</td><td>invoke a command in a subshell</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-entry&gt;</code></td><td>t</td><td>tag the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-prefix&gt;</code></td><td>;</td><td>apply next function to tagged messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-prefix-cond&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>apply next function ONLY to tagged messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;top-page&gt;</code></td><td>H</td><td>move to the top of the page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;what-key&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>display the keycode for a key press</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="index-map"></a>4.2. Index Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-index-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.3. Default Index Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Index Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;autocrypt-acct-menu&gt;</code></td><td>A</td><td>manage autocrypt accounts</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;background-compose-menu&gt;</code></td><td>B</td><td>list and select backgrounded compose sessions</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;bounce-message&gt;</code></td><td>b</td><td>remail a message to another user</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;break-thread&gt;</code></td><td>#</td><td>break the thread in two</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;browse-mailboxes&gt;</code></td><td>y</td><td>select a new mailbox from the browser</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;browse-mailboxes-readonly&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>select a new mailbox from the browser in read only mode</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;buffy-list&gt;</code></td><td>.</td><td>list mailboxes with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;change-folder&gt;</code></td><td>c</td><td>open a different folder</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;change-folder-readonly&gt;</code></td><td>Esc c</td><td>open a different folder in read only mode</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;check-traditional-pgp&gt;</code></td><td>Esc P</td><td>check for classic PGP</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;clear-flag&gt;</code></td><td>W</td><td>clear a status flag from a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;collapse-all&gt;</code></td><td>Esc V</td><td>collapse/uncollapse all threads</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;collapse-thread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc v</td><td>collapse/uncollapse current thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;compose-to-sender&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>compose new message to the current message sender</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;copy-message&gt;</code></td><td>C</td><td>copy a message to a file/mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;create-alias&gt;</code></td><td>a</td><td>create an alias from a message sender</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;decode-copy&gt;</code></td><td>Esc C</td><td>make decoded (text/plain) copy</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;decode-save&gt;</code></td><td>Esc s</td><td>make decoded copy (text/plain) and delete</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;decrypt-copy&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>make decrypted copy</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;decrypt-save&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>make decrypted copy and delete</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-message&gt;</code></td><td>d</td><td>delete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-pattern&gt;</code></td><td>D</td><td>delete messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc d</td><td>delete all messages in subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^D</td><td>delete all messages in thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-address&gt;</code></td><td>@</td><td>display full address of sender</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-message&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Enter&gt;</td><td>display a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-message&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Keypadenter&gt;</td><td>display a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-message&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>display a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-message&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Space&gt;</td><td>display a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-toggle-weed&gt;</code></td><td>h</td><td>display message and toggle header weeding</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit&gt;</code></td><td>e</td><td>edit the raw message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-label&gt;</code></td><td>Y</td><td>add, change, or delete a message's label</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-type&gt;</code></td><td>^E</td><td>edit attachment content type</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;exit&gt;</code></td><td>x</td><td>exit this menu</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;extract-keys&gt;</code></td><td>^K</td><td>extract supported public keys</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;fetch-mail&gt;</code></td><td>G</td><td>retrieve mail from POP server</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;flag-message&gt;</code></td><td>F</td><td>toggle a message's 'important' flag</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forget-passphrase&gt;</code></td><td>^F</td><td>wipe passphrase(s) from memory</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward-message&gt;</code></td><td>f</td><td>forward a message with comments</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;group-chat-reply&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>reply to all recipients preserving To/Cc</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;group-reply&gt;</code></td><td>g</td><td>reply to all recipients</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;imap-fetch-mail&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>force retrieval of mail from IMAP server</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;imap-logout-all&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>logout from all IMAP servers</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;limit&gt;</code></td><td>l</td><td>show only messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;link-threads&gt;</code></td><td>&amp;</td><td>link tagged message to the current one</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-action&gt;</code></td><td>Esc L</td><td>perform mailing list action</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-reply&gt;</code></td><td>L</td><td>reply to specified mailing list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;mail&gt;</code></td><td>m</td><td>compose a new mail message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;mail-key&gt;</code></td><td>Esc k</td><td>mail a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;mark-message&gt;</code></td><td>~</td><td>create a hotkey macro for the current message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-entry&gt;</code></td><td>J</td><td>move to the next entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the next new message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-new-then-unread&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Tab&gt;</td><td>jump to the next new or unread message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc n</td><td>jump to the next subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^N</td><td>jump to the next thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Down&gt;</td><td>move to the next undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>j</td><td>move to the next undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-unread&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the next unread message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-unread-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>open next mailbox with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;parent-message&gt;</code></td><td>P</td><td>jump to parent message in thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;pipe-message&gt;</code></td><td>|</td><td>pipe message/attachment to a shell command</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-entry&gt;</code></td><td>K</td><td>move to the previous entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the previous new message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-new-then-unread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc &lt;Tab&gt;</td><td>jump to the previous new or unread message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc p</td><td>jump to previous subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^P</td><td>jump to previous thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Up&gt;</td><td>move to the previous undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>k</td><td>move to the previous undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-unread&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the previous unread message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;print-message&gt;</code></td><td>p</td><td>print the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;purge-message&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>delete the current entry, bypassing the trash folder</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;query&gt;</code></td><td>Q</td><td>query external program for addresses</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;quit&gt;</code></td><td>q</td><td>save changes to mailbox and quit</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;read-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc r</td><td>mark the current subthread as read</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;read-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^R</td><td>mark the current thread as read</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;recall-message&gt;</code></td><td>R</td><td>recall a postponed message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;reply&gt;</code></td><td>r</td><td>reply to a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;resend-message&gt;</code></td><td>Esc e</td><td>use the current message as a template for a new one</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;root-message&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to root message in thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;save-message&gt;</code></td><td>s</td><td>save message/attachment to a mailbox/file</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;set-flag&gt;</code></td><td>w</td><td>set a status flag on a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;show-limit&gt;</code></td><td>Esc l</td><td>show currently active limit pattern</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;show-version&gt;</code></td><td>V</td><td>show the Mutt version number and date</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-first&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to the first mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-last&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to the last mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-next&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to next mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-next-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to next mailbox with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-open&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>open highlighted mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-page-down&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>scroll the sidebar down 1 page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-page-up&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>scroll the sidebar up 1 page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-prev&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to previous mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-prev-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to previous mailbox with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-toggle-visible&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>make the sidebar (in)visible</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sort-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td>o</td><td>sort messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sort-reverse&gt;</code></td><td>O</td><td>sort messages in reverse order</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sync-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td>$</td><td>save changes to mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-pattern&gt;</code></td><td>T</td><td>tag messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-subthread&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>tag the current subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-thread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc t</td><td>tag the current thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-new&gt;</code></td><td>N</td><td>toggle a message's 'new' flag</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-write&gt;</code></td><td>%</td><td>toggle whether the mailbox will be rewritten</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-message&gt;</code></td><td>u</td><td>undelete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-pattern&gt;</code></td><td>U</td><td>undelete messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc u</td><td>undelete all messages in subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^U</td><td>undelete all messages in thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;untag-pattern&gt;</code></td><td>^T</td><td>untag messages matching a pattern</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-attachments&gt;</code></td><td>v</td><td>show MIME attachments</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pager-map"></a>4.3. Pager Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-pager-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.4. Default Pager Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Pager Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;background-compose-menu&gt;</code></td><td>B</td><td>list and select backgrounded compose sessions</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;bottom&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;End&gt;</td><td>jump to the bottom of the message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;bounce-message&gt;</code></td><td>b</td><td>remail a message to another user</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;break-thread&gt;</code></td><td>#</td><td>break the thread in two</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;browse-mailboxes&gt;</code></td><td>y</td><td>select a new mailbox from the browser</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;browse-mailboxes-readonly&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>select a new mailbox from the browser in read only mode</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;buffy-list&gt;</code></td><td>.</td><td>list mailboxes with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;change-folder&gt;</code></td><td>c</td><td>open a different folder</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;change-folder-readonly&gt;</code></td><td>Esc c</td><td>open a different folder in read only mode</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;check-stats&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>calculate message statistics for all mailboxes</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;check-traditional-pgp&gt;</code></td><td>Esc P</td><td>check for classic PGP</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;clear-flag&gt;</code></td><td>W</td><td>clear a status flag from a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;compose-to-sender&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>compose new message to the current message sender</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;copy-message&gt;</code></td><td>C</td><td>copy a message to a file/mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;create-alias&gt;</code></td><td>a</td><td>create an alias from a message sender</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;decode-copy&gt;</code></td><td>Esc C</td><td>make decoded (text/plain) copy</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;decode-save&gt;</code></td><td>Esc s</td><td>make decoded copy (text/plain) and delete</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;decrypt-copy&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>make decrypted copy</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;decrypt-save&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>make decrypted copy and delete</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-message&gt;</code></td><td>d</td><td>delete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc d</td><td>delete all messages in subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^D</td><td>delete all messages in thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-address&gt;</code></td><td>@</td><td>display full address of sender</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-toggle-weed&gt;</code></td><td>h</td><td>display message and toggle header weeding</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit&gt;</code></td><td>e</td><td>edit the raw message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-label&gt;</code></td><td>Y</td><td>add, change, or delete a message's label</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-type&gt;</code></td><td>^E</td><td>edit attachment content type</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;enter-command&gt;</code></td><td>:</td><td>enter a muttrc command</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;error-history&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>display recent history of error messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;exit&gt;</code></td><td>i</td><td>exit this menu</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;exit&gt;</code></td><td>q</td><td>exit this menu</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;exit&gt;</code></td><td>x</td><td>exit this menu</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;extract-keys&gt;</code></td><td>^K</td><td>extract supported public keys</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;flag-message&gt;</code></td><td>F</td><td>toggle a message's 'important' flag</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forget-passphrase&gt;</code></td><td>^F</td><td>wipe passphrase(s) from memory</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward-message&gt;</code></td><td>f</td><td>forward a message with comments</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;group-chat-reply&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>reply to all recipients preserving To/Cc</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;group-reply&gt;</code></td><td>g</td><td>reply to all recipients</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;half-down&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>scroll down 1/2 page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;half-up&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>scroll up 1/2 page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;help&gt;</code></td><td>?</td><td>this screen</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;imap-fetch-mail&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>force retrieval of mail from IMAP server</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;imap-logout-all&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>logout from all IMAP servers</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>1</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>2</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>3</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>4</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>5</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>6</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>7</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>8</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;jump&gt;</code></td><td>9</td><td>jump to an index number</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;link-threads&gt;</code></td><td>&amp;</td><td>link tagged message to the current one</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-action&gt;</code></td><td>Esc L</td><td>perform mailing list action</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-reply&gt;</code></td><td>L</td><td>reply to specified mailing list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;mail&gt;</code></td><td>m</td><td>compose a new mail message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;mail-key&gt;</code></td><td>Esc k</td><td>mail a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;mark-as-new&gt;</code></td><td>N</td><td>toggle a message's 'new' flag</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-entry&gt;</code></td><td>J</td><td>move to the next entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-line&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Enter&gt;</td><td>scroll down one line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-line&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Keypadenter&gt;</td><td>scroll down one line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-line&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>scroll down one line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the next new message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-new-then-unread&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Tab&gt;</td><td>jump to the next new or unread message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-page&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Pagedown&gt;</td><td>move to the next page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-page&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Space&gt;</td><td>move to the next page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc n</td><td>jump to the next subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^N</td><td>jump to the next thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Down&gt;</td><td>move to the next undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Right&gt;</td><td>move to the next undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>j</td><td>move to the next undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-unread&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the next unread message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;next-unread-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>open next mailbox with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;parent-message&gt;</code></td><td>P</td><td>jump to parent message in thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;pipe-message&gt;</code></td><td>|</td><td>pipe message/attachment to a shell command</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-entry&gt;</code></td><td>K</td><td>move to the previous entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-line&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Backspace&gt;</td><td>scroll up one line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the previous new message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-new-then-unread&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the previous new or unread message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-page&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Pageup&gt;</td><td>move to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-page&gt;</code></td><td>-</td><td>move to the previous page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc p</td><td>jump to previous subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^P</td><td>jump to previous thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Left&gt;</td><td>move to the previous undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Up&gt;</td><td>move to the previous undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-undeleted&gt;</code></td><td>k</td><td>move to the previous undeleted message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;previous-unread&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to the previous unread message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;print-message&gt;</code></td><td>p</td><td>print the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;purge-message&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>delete the current entry, bypassing the trash folder</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;quit&gt;</code></td><td>Q</td><td>save changes to mailbox and quit</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;read-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc r</td><td>mark the current subthread as read</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;read-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^R</td><td>mark the current thread as read</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;recall-message&gt;</code></td><td>R</td><td>recall a postponed message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;redraw-screen&gt;</code></td><td>^L</td><td>clear and redraw the screen</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;reply&gt;</code></td><td>r</td><td>reply to a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;resend-message&gt;</code></td><td>Esc e</td><td>use the current message as a template for a new one</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;root-message&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>jump to root message in thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;save-message&gt;</code></td><td>s</td><td>save message/attachment to a mailbox/file</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search&gt;</code></td><td>/</td><td>search for a regular expression</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search-next&gt;</code></td><td>n</td><td>search for next match</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search-opposite&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>search for next match in opposite direction</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search-reverse&gt;</code></td><td>Esc /</td><td>search backwards for a regular expression</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;search-toggle&gt;</code></td><td>\\</td><td>toggle search pattern coloring</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;set-flag&gt;</code></td><td>w</td><td>set a status flag on a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;shell-escape&gt;</code></td><td>!</td><td>invoke a command in a subshell</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;show-version&gt;</code></td><td>V</td><td>show the Mutt version number and date</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-first&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to the first mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-last&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to the last mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-next&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to next mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-next-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to next mailbox with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-open&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>open highlighted mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-page-down&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>scroll the sidebar down 1 page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-page-up&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>scroll the sidebar up 1 page</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-prev&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to previous mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-prev-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move the highlight to previous mailbox with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sidebar-toggle-visible&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>make the sidebar (in)visible</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;skip-headers&gt;</code></td><td>H</td><td>skip beyond headers</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;skip-quoted&gt;</code></td><td>S</td><td>skip beyond quoted text</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sort-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td>o</td><td>sort messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sort-reverse&gt;</code></td><td>O</td><td>sort messages in reverse order</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sync-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td>$</td><td>save changes to mailbox</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-message&gt;</code></td><td>t</td><td>tag the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-quoted&gt;</code></td><td>T</td><td>toggle display of quoted text</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-write&gt;</code></td><td>%</td><td>toggle whether the mailbox will be rewritten</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;top&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Home&gt;</td><td>jump to the top of the message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;top&gt;</code></td><td>^</td><td>jump to the top of the message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-message&gt;</code></td><td>u</td><td>undelete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-subthread&gt;</code></td><td>Esc u</td><td>undelete all messages in subthread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-thread&gt;</code></td><td>^U</td><td>undelete all messages in thread</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-attachments&gt;</code></td><td>v</td><td>show MIME attachments</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;what-key&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>display the keycode for a key press</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="alias-map"></a>4.4. Alias Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-alias-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.5. Default Alias Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Alias Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-entry&gt;</code></td><td>d</td><td>delete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Space&gt;</td><td>tag the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-entry&gt;</code></td><td>u</td><td>undelete the current entry</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="query-map"></a>4.5. Query Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-query-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.6. Default Query Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Query Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;create-alias&gt;</code></td><td>a</td><td>create an alias from a message sender</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;mail&gt;</code></td><td>m</td><td>compose a new mail message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;query&gt;</code></td><td>Q</td><td>query external program for addresses</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;query-append&gt;</code></td><td>A</td><td>append new query results to current results</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="attachment-map"></a>4.6. Attachment Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-attachment-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.7. Default Attachment Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Attachment Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;bounce-message&gt;</code></td><td>b</td><td>remail a message to another user</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;check-traditional-pgp&gt;</code></td><td>Esc P</td><td>check for classic PGP</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;collapse-parts&gt;</code></td><td>v</td><td>Toggle display of subparts</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;compose-to-sender&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>compose new message to the current message sender</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-entry&gt;</code></td><td>d</td><td>delete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-toggle-weed&gt;</code></td><td>h</td><td>display message and toggle header weeding</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-type&gt;</code></td><td>^E</td><td>edit attachment content type</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;extract-keys&gt;</code></td><td>^K</td><td>extract supported public keys</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forget-passphrase&gt;</code></td><td>^F</td><td>wipe passphrase(s) from memory</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward-message&gt;</code></td><td>f</td><td>forward a message with comments</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;group-chat-reply&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>reply to all recipients preserving To/Cc</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;group-reply&gt;</code></td><td>g</td><td>reply to all recipients</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-reply&gt;</code></td><td>L</td><td>reply to specified mailing list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;pipe-entry&gt;</code></td><td>|</td><td>pipe message/attachment to a shell command</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;print-entry&gt;</code></td><td>p</td><td>print the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;reply&gt;</code></td><td>r</td><td>reply to a message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;resend-message&gt;</code></td><td>Esc e</td><td>use the current message as a template for a new one</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;save-entry&gt;</code></td><td>s</td><td>save message/attachment to a mailbox/file</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-entry&gt;</code></td><td>u</td><td>undelete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Enter&gt;</td><td>view attachment using mailcap entry if necessary</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Keypadenter&gt;</td><td>view attachment using mailcap entry if necessary</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>view attachment using mailcap entry if necessary</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-mailcap&gt;</code></td><td>m</td><td>force viewing of attachment using mailcap</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-pager&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>view attachment in pager using copiousoutput mailcap entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-text&gt;</code></td><td>T</td><td>view attachment as text</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="compose-map"></a>4.7. Compose Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-compose-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.8. Default Compose Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Compose Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;attach-file&gt;</code></td><td>a</td><td>attach file(s) to this message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;attach-key&gt;</code></td><td>Esc k</td><td>attach a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;attach-message&gt;</code></td><td>A</td><td>attach message(s) to this message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;autocrypt-menu&gt;</code></td><td>o</td><td>show autocrypt compose menu options</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;copy-file&gt;</code></td><td>C</td><td>save message/attachment to a mailbox/file</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;detach-file&gt;</code></td><td>D</td><td>delete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-toggle-weed&gt;</code></td><td>h</td><td>display message and toggle header weeding</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-bcc&gt;</code></td><td>b</td><td>edit the BCC list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-cc&gt;</code></td><td>c</td><td>edit the CC list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-description&gt;</code></td><td>d</td><td>edit attachment description</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-encoding&gt;</code></td><td>^E</td><td>edit attachment transfer-encoding</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-fcc&gt;</code></td><td>f</td><td>enter a file to save a copy of this message in</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-file&gt;</code></td><td>^X e</td><td>edit the file to be attached</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-from&gt;</code></td><td>Esc f</td><td>edit the from field</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-headers&gt;</code></td><td>E</td><td>edit the message with headers</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-message&gt;</code></td><td>e</td><td>edit the message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-mime&gt;</code></td><td>m</td><td>edit attachment using mailcap entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-reply-to&gt;</code></td><td>r</td><td>edit the Reply-To field</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-subject&gt;</code></td><td>s</td><td>edit the subject of this message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-to&gt;</code></td><td>t</td><td>edit the TO list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;edit-type&gt;</code></td><td>^T</td><td>edit attachment content type</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;filter-entry&gt;</code></td><td>F</td><td>filter attachment through a shell command</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forget-passphrase&gt;</code></td><td>^F</td><td>wipe passphrase(s) from memory</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;get-attachment&gt;</code></td><td>G</td><td>get a temporary copy of an attachment</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;ispell&gt;</code></td><td>i</td><td>run ispell on the message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;mix&gt;</code></td><td>M</td><td>send the message through a mixmaster remailer chain</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;move-down&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move attachment down in compose menu list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;move-up&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>move attachment up in compose menu list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;new-mime&gt;</code></td><td>n</td><td>compose new attachment using mailcap entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;pgp-menu&gt;</code></td><td>p</td><td>show PGP options</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;pipe-entry&gt;</code></td><td>|</td><td>pipe message/attachment to a shell command</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;postpone-message&gt;</code></td><td>P</td><td>save this message to send later</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;print-entry&gt;</code></td><td>l</td><td>print the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;rename-attachment&gt;</code></td><td>^O</td><td>send attachment with a different name</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;rename-file&gt;</code></td><td>R</td><td>rename/move an attached file</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;send-message&gt;</code></td><td>y</td><td>send the message</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;smime-menu&gt;</code></td><td>S</td><td>show S/MIME options</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;tag-entry&gt;</code></td><td>T</td><td>tag the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-disposition&gt;</code></td><td>^D</td><td>toggle disposition between inline/attachment</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-recode&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>toggle recoding of this attachment</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-unlink&gt;</code></td><td>u</td><td>toggle whether to delete file after sending it</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;update-encoding&gt;</code></td><td>U</td><td>update an attachment's encoding info</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-alt&gt;</code></td><td>v</td><td>view multipart/alternative</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-alt-mailcap&gt;</code></td><td>V</td><td>view multipart/alternative using mailcap</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-alt-pager&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>view multipart/alternative in pager using copiousoutput mailcap entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-alt-text&gt;</code></td><td>Esc v</td><td>view multipart/alternative as text</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Enter&gt;</td><td>view attachment using mailcap entry if necessary</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Keypadenter&gt;</td><td>view attachment using mailcap entry if necessary</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-attach&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>view attachment using mailcap entry if necessary</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-mailcap&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>force viewing of attachment using mailcap</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-pager&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>view attachment in pager using copiousoutput mailcap entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-text&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>view attachment as text</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;write-fcc&gt;</code></td><td>w</td><td>write the message to a folder</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="postpone-map"></a>4.8. Postpone Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-postpone-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.9. Default Postpone Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Postpone Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-entry&gt;</code></td><td>d</td><td>delete the current entry</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;undelete-entry&gt;</code></td><td>u</td><td>undelete the current entry</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="browser-map"></a>4.9. Browser Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-browser-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.10. Default Browser Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Browser Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;buffy-list&gt;</code></td><td>.</td><td>list mailboxes with new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;change-dir&gt;</code></td><td>c</td><td>change directories</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;check-new&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>check mailboxes for new mail</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;create-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td>C</td><td>create a new mailbox (IMAP only)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td>d</td><td>delete the current mailbox (IMAP only)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;descend-directory&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>descend into a directory</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;display-filename&gt;</code></td><td>@</td><td>display the currently selected file's name</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;enter-mask&gt;</code></td><td>m</td><td>enter a file mask</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;rename-mailbox&gt;</code></td><td>r</td><td>rename the current mailbox (IMAP only)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;select-new&gt;</code></td><td>N</td><td>select a new file in this directory</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sort&gt;</code></td><td>o</td><td>sort messages</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;sort-reverse&gt;</code></td><td>O</td><td>sort messages in reverse order</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;subscribe&gt;</code></td><td>s</td><td>subscribe to current mailbox (IMAP only)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-mailboxes&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Tab&gt;</td><td>toggle whether to browse mailboxes or all files</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-subscribed&gt;</code></td><td>T</td><td>toggle view all/subscribed mailboxes (IMAP only)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;unsubscribe&gt;</code></td><td>u</td><td>unsubscribe from current mailbox (IMAP only)</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-file&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Space&gt;</td><td>view file</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="pgp-map"></a>4.10. Pgp Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-pgp-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.11. Default Pgp Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Pgp Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;verify-key&gt;</code></td><td>c</td><td>verify a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-name&gt;</code></td><td>%</td><td>view the key's user id</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="smime-map"></a>4.11. Smime Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-smime-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.12. Default Smime Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Smime Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;verify-key&gt;</code></td><td>c</td><td>verify a PGP public key</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;view-name&gt;</code></td><td>%</td><td>view the key's user id</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="mixmaster-map"></a>4.12. Mixmaster Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-mixmaster-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.13. Default Mixmaster Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Mixmaster Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;accept&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Enter&gt;</td><td>accept the chain constructed</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;accept&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Keypadenter&gt;</td><td>accept the chain constructed</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;accept&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Return&gt;</td><td>accept the chain constructed</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;append&gt;</code></td><td>a</td><td>append a remailer to the chain</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;chain-next&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Right&gt;</td><td>select the next element of the chain</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;chain-next&gt;</code></td><td>l</td><td>select the next element of the chain</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;chain-prev&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Left&gt;</td><td>select the previous element of the chain</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;chain-prev&gt;</code></td><td>h</td><td>select the previous element of the chain</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete&gt;</code></td><td>d</td><td>delete a remailer from the chain</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;insert&gt;</code></td><td>i</td><td>insert a remailer into the chain</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;select-entry&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Space&gt;</td><td>select the current entry</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="editor-map"></a>4.13. Editor Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-editor-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.14. Default Editor Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Editor Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;backspace&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Backspace&gt;</td><td>delete the char in front of the cursor</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;backspace&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Delete&gt;</td><td>delete the char in front of the cursor</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;backward-char&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Left&gt;</td><td>move the cursor one character to the left</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;backward-char&gt;</code></td><td>^B</td><td>move the cursor one character to the left</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;backward-word&gt;</code></td><td>Esc b</td><td>move the cursor to the beginning of the word</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;bol&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Home&gt;</td><td>jump to the beginning of the line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;bol&gt;</code></td><td>^A</td><td>jump to the beginning of the line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;buffy-cycle&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Space&gt;</td><td>cycle among incoming mailboxes</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;capitalize-word&gt;</code></td><td>Esc c</td><td>capitalize the word</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;complete&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Tab&gt;</td><td>complete filename or alias</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;complete-query&gt;</code></td><td>^T</td><td>complete address with query</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-char&gt;</code></td><td>^D</td><td>delete the char under the cursor</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;downcase-word&gt;</code></td><td>Esc l</td><td>convert the word to lower case</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;eol&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;End&gt;</td><td>jump to the end of the line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;eol&gt;</code></td><td>^E</td><td>jump to the end of the line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward-char&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Right&gt;</td><td>move the cursor one character to the right</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward-char&gt;</code></td><td>^F</td><td>move the cursor one character to the right</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;forward-word&gt;</code></td><td>Esc f</td><td>move the cursor to the end of the word</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;history-down&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Down&gt;</td><td>scroll down through the history list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;history-down&gt;</code></td><td>^N</td><td>scroll down through the history list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;history-search&gt;</code></td><td>^R</td><td>search through the history list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;history-up&gt;</code></td><td>&lt;Up&gt;</td><td>scroll up through the history list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;history-up&gt;</code></td><td>^P</td><td>scroll up through the history list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;kill-eol&gt;</code></td><td>^K</td><td>delete chars from cursor to end of line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;kill-eow&gt;</code></td><td>Esc d</td><td>delete chars from the cursor to the end of the word</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;kill-line&gt;</code></td><td>^U</td><td>delete all chars on the line</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;kill-word&gt;</code></td><td>^W</td><td>delete the word in front of the cursor</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;quote-char&gt;</code></td><td>^V</td><td>quote the next typed key</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;transpose-chars&gt;</code></td><td> </td><td>transpose character under cursor with previous</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;upcase-word&gt;</code></td><td>Esc u</td><td>convert the word to upper case</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="autocrypt-account-map"></a>4.14. Autocrypt Account Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-autocrypt-account-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.15. Default Autocrypt Account Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default Autocrypt Account Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;create-account&gt;</code></td><td>c</td><td>create a new autocrypt account</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;delete-account&gt;</code></td><td>D</td><td>delete the current account</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-active&gt;</code></td><td>a</td><td>toggle the current account active/inactive</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;toggle-prefer-encrypt&gt;</code></td><td>p</td><td>toggle the current account prefer-encrypt flag</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div><div class="sect2"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title"><a id="list-map"></a>4.15. List Menu</h3></div></div></div><div class="table"><a id="tab-list-bindings"></a><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.16. Default List Menu Bindings</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Default List Menu Bindings" border="1"><colgroup><col /><col /><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th>Function</th><th>Default key</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-archive&gt;</code></td><td>a</td><td>retrieve list archive information</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-help&gt;</code></td><td>h</td><td>retrieve list help</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-owner&gt;</code></td><td>o</td><td>contact list owner</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-post&gt;</code></td><td>p</td><td>post to mailing list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-subscribe&gt;</code></td><td>s</td><td>subscribe to mailing list</td></tr><tr><td><code class="literal">&lt;list-unsubscribe&gt;</code></td><td>u</td><td>unsubscribe from mailing list</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /></div></div></div><div class="chapter"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="miscellany"></a>Chapter 10. Miscellany</h1></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#acknowledgements">1. Acknowledgements</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="#about">2. About This Document</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="acknowledgements"></a>1. Acknowledgements</h2></div></div></div><p>
Kari Hurtta <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:kari.hurtta@fmi.fi">kari.hurtta@fmi.fi</a>&gt;</code> co-developed the original
MIME parsing code back in the ELM-ME days.
</p><p>
The following people have been very helpful to the development of Mutt:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; "><li class="listitem"><p>Vikas Agnihotri <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:vikasa@writeme.com">vikasa@writeme.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Francois Berjon <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:Francois.Berjon@aar.alcatel-alsthom.fr">Francois.Berjon@aar.alcatel-alsthom.fr</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Aric Blumer <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:aric@fore.com">aric@fore.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>John Capo <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:jc@irbs.com">jc@irbs.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>David Champion <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:dgc@uchicago.edu">dgc@uchicago.edu</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Brendan Cully <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:brendan@kublai.com">brendan@kublai.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Liviu Daia <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:daia@stoilow.imar.ro">daia@stoilow.imar.ro</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Thomas E. Dickey <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:dickey@herndon4.his.com">dickey@herndon4.his.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>David DeSimone <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:fox@convex.hp.com">fox@convex.hp.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Nickolay N. Dudorov <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:nnd@wint.itfs.nsk.su">nnd@wint.itfs.nsk.su</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Ruslan Ermilov <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:ru@freebsd.org">ru@freebsd.org</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Edmund Grimley Evans <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:edmundo@rano.org">edmundo@rano.org</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Michael Finken <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:finken@conware.de">finken@conware.de</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Sven Guckes <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:guckes@math.fu-berlin.de">guckes@math.fu-berlin.de</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Lars Hecking <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:lhecking@nmrc.ie">lhecking@nmrc.ie</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Mark Holloman <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:holloman@nando.net">holloman@nando.net</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Andreas Holzmann <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:holzmann@fmi.uni-passau.de">holzmann@fmi.uni-passau.de</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Marco d'Itri <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:md@linux.it">md@linux.it</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Björn Jacke <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:bjacke@suse.com">bjacke@suse.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Byrial Jensen <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:byrial@image.dk">byrial@image.dk</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>David Jeske <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:jeske@igcom.net">jeske@igcom.net</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Christophe Kalt <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:kalt@hugo.int-evry.fr">kalt@hugo.int-evry.fr</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Tommi Komulainen <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:Tommi.Komulainen@iki.fi">Tommi.Komulainen@iki.fi</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Felix von Leitner (a.k.a <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Fefe</span>”</span>) <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:leitner@math.fu-berlin.de">leitner@math.fu-berlin.de</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Brandon Long <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:blong@fiction.net">blong@fiction.net</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Jimmy Mäkelä <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:jmy@flashback.net">jmy@flashback.net</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Lars Marowsky-Bree <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:lmb@pointer.in-minden.de">lmb@pointer.in-minden.de</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Kevin J. McCarthy <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:kevin@8t8.us">kevin@8t8.us</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Thomas <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Mike</span>”</span> Michlmayr <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:mike@cosy.sbg.ac.at">mike@cosy.sbg.ac.at</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Andrew W. Nosenko <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:awn@bcs.zp.ua">awn@bcs.zp.ua</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>David O'Brien <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:obrien@Nuxi.cs.ucdavis.edu">obrien@Nuxi.cs.ucdavis.edu</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Clint Olsen <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:olsenc@ichips.intel.com">olsenc@ichips.intel.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Park Myeong Seok <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:pms@romance.kaist.ac.kr">pms@romance.kaist.ac.kr</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Thomas Parmelan <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:tom@ankh.fr.eu.org">tom@ankh.fr.eu.org</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Ollivier Robert <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:roberto@keltia.freenix.fr">roberto@keltia.freenix.fr</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Thomas Roessler <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:roessler@does-not-exist.org">roessler@does-not-exist.org</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Roland Rosenfeld <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:roland@spinnaker.de">roland@spinnaker.de</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Rocco Rutte <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:pdmef@gmx.net">pdmef@gmx.net</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>TAKIZAWA Takashi <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:taki@luna.email.ne.jp">taki@luna.email.ne.jp</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Allain Thivillon <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:Allain.Thivillon@alma.fr">Allain.Thivillon@alma.fr</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Gero Treuner <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:gero@70t.de">gero@70t.de</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Vsevolod Volkov <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:vvv@lucky.net">vvv@lucky.net</a>&gt;</code></p></li><li class="listitem"><p>Ken Weinert <code class="email">&lt;<a class="email" href="mailto:kenw@ihs.com">kenw@ihs.com</a>&gt;</code></p></li></ul></div></div><div class="sect1"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="about"></a>2. About This Document</h2></div></div></div><p>
This document was written in <a class="ulink" href="http://docbook.sourceforge.net" target="_top">DocBook</a>, and then rendered
using the <a class="ulink" href="http://xmlsoft.org/XSLT/" target="_top">Gnome XSLT
toolkit</a>.
</p></div></div></div></body></html>